Kings Mountain January 16, 2012

On Friday, our family visited Kings Mountain for a day of hiking.  We first toured the Living History Farm of re-created buildings of an 18th century farm, where a cat ran over from the woods to join us.  He lead us around like a tour guide!  Logan loves cats and always manages to find one…we call him the cat whisperer! 

After peering inside a privy, we decided we are all very thankful for modern conveniences, especially indoor toilets!  We learned that a long time ago bed frames had a system of ropes running through them which held the mattress up off the floor.  Occasionally, these ropes had to be tightened so the mattress would not sag.  This is where the term “sleep tight” comes from!

We ate our picnic lunch inside the car (with heat running) because it was chilly and windy outside.  Then we drove to another parking lot and began our 7-mile hike.  The trees this time of year have no leaves, so we could see straight through the woods.  My boys collected an arsenal of stick weapons to carry through belt loops and in their hands.  They were on the lookout for Indians! 

After 3 1/2 miles, we came to the Visitor’s Center where we watched a short film on the battle which took place at King’s Mountain.  In a nut shell, the American patriots, led by Col. William Campbell, defeated the Loyalists commanded by Major Patrick Ferguson, who was reputed to be the best marksman in the British Army.  In fact, at one time, Ferguson had a key patriot leader in range ready to kill, and at the last minute, refused to fire.  If he had shot, he would have killed George Washington, commander of the Continental Army.  How different America could have been!  No doubt God has His hand on history!

As it was getting late in the day, we decided it would be best to forgo the walking tour of the battlefield behind the Visitor’s Center and hike back to the car.  That leaves us something else to go back and do.  Luke complained some about the long walk, but he’s really becoming quite a great little hiker!  We all really had a fun time and learned something, too!  The air was cool and refreshing, and it was wonderful to spend the time outdoors with my favorite people!

A Day at the Museum January 14, 2012

The Queen City is home to the Mint Museum, a museum of craft, design, and American and European art.  When Logan first began noticing the signs for this museum, he expressed over and over his desire to visit there.  I think his desire had something to do with the word “Mint.”  When I found out what the museum was about and told Logan, he was slightly disappointed that samples of mints from around the world would not be one of the exhibits!

Our opportunity to visit the Mint Museum came this past week after I received an e-mail from a friend that the museum was offering free admission to home schoolers for an afternoon.  Now, driving to a new destination in uptown AND finding a place to park are not at the top of my favorite things to do, but I was up for an adventure with my kids on a rainy day!  Their eyes were pealed for the big “P”  signs indicating parking, and we found the right garage, then the elevators we took up, exited that building, and entered the museum right next door.

We signed in, got our stickers to wear, and headed to the “Family Gallery.”  It was a very kid-friendly room where the kids took part in building and puzzle challenges, posing for pictures inside frames, making large doodles on paper, and creating art of their own at a well-stocked art center.  When I finally coaxed them away from the art table, we headed upstairs to browse through two floors of exhibits.  We saw glass and pottery designs, wood designs, woven bamboo designs, even art created with painted threads.

I am not an art connoisseur by any means, but there were certainly some very unusual (okay, strange!) pieces on display.  One display from a distance looked like toilet paper thrown over ropes.  As we got closer, we discovered the piece was actually made of white linen, in my words, “thrown over rope.”  Another eye-catching piece was a preserved, dead Christmas tree decorated with clear glass balls filled with the dead needles from the tree.  Now why couldn’t I have thought of that?!

We saw necklaces that looked more like (in Logan’s words) “neck braces.”  Some were huge, some were twisted, and some looked very uncomfortable.  There was one  necklace made of all recycled plastic things the artist found, like plastic tabs from milk jugs, plastic care instructions that come with flowers, etc.  Other painted works looked like my Luke could have made them and even done a better job!

I got excited when I found a painting by Benjamin West because we’ve studied a little about him this year in our history lessons.   West was an American-born artist who became painter for King George III of England during the time of the American Revolution.  Seeing West’s artwork made our book studies come alive.  We also saw lots of paintings of George Washington.

We all searched for our favorite pieces, and Logan’s was a footed rosewood bowl.  Lindsay’s favorite piece was called the “Pacific Rose,” which looked like a huge crystal suspended by a hook.   Luke liked a wooden piece shaped like a huge slug.  My favorite piece was called “Dancing Pear Bottle.”

Our day at the museum was fun and since admission is free on Tuesday nights between 5 and 9pm, we may visit again with Brad.  Then he can pick out his favorite piece!

Goop January 9, 2012

One afternoon, Luke brought to me a library book he had been looking through.  He found pictures of some children playing with a gooey mixture, and that was enough for him to know he wanted to make that stuff too.

The recipe for “Goop” comes from the book “Solid, Liquid, and Gas” by Melinda Lilly.  Always looking for an entertaining, hands-on way to reinforce our school learning, I thought it would be a fun thing to make.  We mixed 2 cups of water with one drop of food coloring and added to 3 1/2 cups of cornstarch.  The combination creates a goop that is both a solid and a liquid.  When poked and handled, the goop is a solid (because the water moves out of the way), but if allowed to sit still, it becomes a liquid flowing between your fingers.  Luke describes goop as “awesome weird.”  

One word of warning:  this is an outdoor project!  I learned that the hard way after wiping lots of goop off the floor and carpet and kids!  We all had a fun time playing with this mysterious mixture, even Dad got in on the action!  We couldn’t keep our hands off the stuff because it’s so “weird!”  Science can be way fun and cool!

 

A Christmas Drop-In January 8, 2012

With three young children who LOVE to play outside, I find myself outside often keeping an eye and an ear on their whereabouts.  There are about 6 regular children on our street who flock to our house to play, some days all at the same time!  I love it, and I would not have it any other way.  I like knowing where my kids are, who they are playing with, and what they are doing.  Their closeness allows me to know all this, and I get to know the kids pretty well, too.

However, I realized that I was getting to know the kids better than I knew their parents.  A few weeks before Christmas I read an article in a magazine from church about a family who hosted a drop-in at their home at Christmas time for the purpose of getting to know their neighbors.  The Lord, right then and there, laid it on my heart to host a drop-in of our own.  I talked to Brad about it, and he loved the idea.

One Sunday afternoon, two weeks before Christmas, I made up fliers with our drop-in information and the next Monday, Lindsay and I placed our invitations in ten of our neighbors’ newspaper boxes.  The next Sunday, one week before Christmas, we opened our home from 4:00 – 6:00pm and waited.  I really did not know what to expect.  The house was clean (at least the downstairs, oh, and don’t ever look in the laundry room if you come over…that’s where Brad moves my clutter!) and the spread of food was set out.  I served fudge, cookies, flavored crackers, blondies, chips and dip, meatballs, and apple cider.  I learned, though, that it’s not really about the food, it’s about the fellowship, but we do seem to fellowship better over food!

As usual, the children arrived first!  After a few minutes, Brad and I wondered if only the children were going to come!  Then, slowly, 5 of our 10 invited families arrived, and we were thrilled!  I enjoyed introducing my neighbors to each other as new ones arrived.  I enjoyed chatting with them and getting to know them better.  As it turned out, everyone congregated in my kitchen around the food!

Food was eaten, laughs were shared, and new friendships were made.  At 6:00 when the last families left, we discussed going to a local hiking place together.  One lady even volunteered to bring food to our drop-in next year!  It was such a small investment of time and resources, but a big investment in friendships.  I suppose I will host another drop-in next year and continue to invite those who live around me with the hope of building friendships where the love of Christ can be shared.

After the New Year, I was standing at the end of my driveway talking with a neighbor and another neighbor brought her daughter over to play, and the two women began a discussion on something we had all talked about at the drop-in.  I am thankful for how Jesus can use our home or our driveway to bring people together!

 

Great Wolf Lodge January 7, 2012

In mid-December, Brad and I treated our three kids (and ourselves!) to one night at Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, NC.  My mom and my sister Karie and her family met us there for a fun, family gathering!  We were not prepared for all the fun that awaited us!

Official check-in time was not until 4:00pm, but we showed up at 1:00 to begin using the water park and were able to check into our rooms early, which was really nice.  After a quick change into swimsuits, we all headed downstairs to the indoor water park where it’s always 84 degrees.  Being that it was a Thursday, it was not crowded at all.  We did not wait in line for long for any ride, if we even had a wait.  Logan and his cousin Anderson went off on their own with the buddy system.  I felt very comfortable allowing them to go off together because the park was enclosed with employees at the doors and it was pretty open so within a few seconds or minutes of searching, the boys could always be spotted.  I felt very safe there. 

The rides included slides requiring mats or tubes, a toddler/preschool play area, a water tree house with slides and a big water-dumping bucket, a wave pool, a pool with what I call “wipe out” courses (where you grab an overhead net and walk over floating objects to get to the other side).  The lifeguards were attentive and friendly.  The locker rooms included a spin basket to remove water from swimsuits, and I found that very handy!

Around 5:30 pm, we left the park and headed upstairs to change for dinner.  We ate at the Loose Moose Cottage which featured an incredible buffet.  The salad bar was amazing!  Dessert was cheesecake and mini chocolate bundt cakes drizzled with chocolate sauce.  After dinner, we went to the lobby which was decorated as a snow village for pajama story time and soap bubble “snow.”  After lots of pictures, we went back upstairs to our rooms (afterall, there was a republican debate on t.v.!) and settled the children into their beds, the girl cousins in my sister’s room and the boy cousins with us!

We stayed in standard suites and let me tell you, the beds were the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in at any hotel!  They were so comfy and cozy, as were the rooms.  I was very impressed!

Aunt Karie bought doughnuts for the kids at Dunkin Donuts in the lobby for breakfast.  Then she and I took the kids down for a lesson on animals in the lobby and an origami wolf craft.  After a visit to the Cub Club, the kids earned tokens for the game room.

Back in our rooms, we packed, changed into our swimsuits again, checked out, loaded our cars with our bags and spent a couple of more hours at the water park.  My personal favorite ride was the Howlin’ Tornado.  Up to 4 people could ride inside a large inner tube, drop through a six-story funnel into a huge room where we slid up and down the sides.  We figured out the more weight on the ride, the higher you slide back and forth.  It was very fun with four adults!  My brother-in-law was a hoot!  We did even get my mom on one of the slides, the River Canyon Run.  Mom’s face when we walked out of the pool at the bottom of the ride made a lady sitting nearby laugh hysterically.  I don’t think mom enjoyed it as much as my sister, my daughter, and me!

We changed into our dry clothes in the locker room, made a quick visit to the gift shop and the Bear Paw Sweets & Eats and decided it was time to leave and go somewhere for lunch.  We had lunch nearby, visited Bass Pro Shop at the Concord outlet mall, and then headed to drive through the Christmas light display at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.  To save money, the ten of us piled into my mom’s small Lexus SUV once we got to the speedway.  It was cramped and noisy, and we all agreed we should have just paid our own way!  Too funny!

Everyone came back to our house to spend the night before departing for their homes the next morning.  Before they left, the kids opened their Christmas gifts to each other after a breakfast of blueberry muffins and hot chocolate.  We all decided that we would love to meet again next December at Great Wolf Lodge, and maybe make it our Christmas tradition together!

Cleaning Out December 13, 2011

This past weekend, my eleven-year-old daughter Lindsay and I had the great blessing of helping a single mom in her twenties clean out her little apartment.  This precious young mom has four small boys, a 4 yr old, twins 19 months old, and an infant!  And I thought I was busy!  A friend of mine from church sent out a desperate plea for cleaning help to assist this mom she has connections with through volunteer work my friend does with a local women’s and children’s shelter.

This was not your basic cleaning job…our task was to literally clean out her apartment.  This mom is a hoarder.  I asked Lindsay if she wanted to go with me. She likes cleaning out and organizing as much as I do, so she eagerly said, “Yes!”  She and I got up early Saturday morning and went to Chick-Fil-A for breakfast before heading over to the apartment.  I tried to prepare Lindsay ahead of time by explaining what a hoarder is so she wouldn’t be shocked.

I’m not so sure my words completely prepared her for what we saw.  When we walked in the door, we saw Mom sitting on the sofa with her boys all around her.  I greeted her and introduced myself.  Then Lindsay and I headed to her master bedroom where we had been assigned to work with three other ladies.  As we made our way down the tiny hall, we couldn’t help but notice the clutter, trash, and piles of stuff everywhere.  I don’t know that I can even begin to describe what I saw, but it would be like something you would see on the T.V. show “Hoarding:  Buried Alive.”

The floor of the bedroom was absolutely covered (you couldn’t even see the floor) in, you name it:  broken glass, pill bottles, soiled diapers, missing caps to everything, earrings, clothes, lotion, dental floss, shoes, coins, forks, old fast food wrappers (some with moldy food still in them), broken DVDs, sticky candy, crumbs (like from an entire box of Corn Flakes), books, toys, papers, dirty dishes, etc.  At first I wondered, “How can anyone live like this?”  To me, a chaotic environment is not relaxing at all, but then I thought, “To this family, this IS normal.”  The house really was a safety and sanitary hazard to the children, and that’s why we were there.  Mom had gotten to the point of being completely overwhelmed with the state of her home and recognized her need for help.  She wanted us there which was wonderful!

We had instructions to throw out the trash, bag up the clothes, and keep a lookout for her food stamps, social security cards, and shoes for her kids to put on.  We started separating the clothes by size, but it didn’t take us long to discover that that task was too much for the day, so we just bagged all the clothes together.  All bathroom items were put into the bathroom, books were put together, toys put in bins for the boys (whenever we took a new found toy to the living room where the boys were, they got so excited).  Shoes were piled into one overflowing bin, dishes and unopened cans of food and formula were returned to the kitchen, floors swept, bag after bag of trash taken outside to the dumpster, spilled lotion and powder cleaned off the floor, furniture moved and cleaned from under and behind, and hangers untangled and organized.  And that was five of us in just the master bedroom!  There was a kitchen crew, a boys’ bedroom crew, a play room crew, and a living/dining room crew.  A similar scenario played out in each room.  But I also noticed another scenario playing out…the ladies from our church were fellowshipping as the joy of the Lord flowed over into each room.

This project was an amazing thing to be a part of.  I was so blessed and walked away being so thankful for everything, especially my happy, secure childhood, my parents, my home, my husband, and my children!  The Lord has given me so much compassion for this mom and I cannot stop thinking about and praying for she and her boys.  At the end of the day when every room had been cleaned out and organized, Mom was thrilled.  She walked around her place saying, “I can’t believe this is my home!”

Mom will soon be matched with a mentor to keep her accountable, and I pray she meet Jesus and begin making wise choices.  I pray that the lives of her boys will be blessed.  A cleaning crew can show up, work its magic, and leave, but unless a change takes place in mom’s heart, things will revert to her “normal.”  Please pray for her.  Only God can clean us to the point of being white as snow!

New Cookie Recipe December 11, 2011

I am going to a cookie/ornament exchange tonight, and my hostess encouraged everyone to try a new cookie recipe this year.  I found a recipe for Chocolate Truffle Cookies that caught my attention and taste buds at What Megan’s Making dot com via Pinterest.

I found a little extra time in my day yesterday to make them, and what can I say?  They are heavenly!  A melt-in-your-mouth delicacy!  If you like chocolate, these will satisfy your craving!

Chocolate Truffle Cookies

1 1/4 cups butter

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 cups chocolate chips

1/3 cup cocoa powder (for rolling)

2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar (for rolling)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.  Sift in cocoa powder and salt, and mix well.  Beat in sour cream and vanilla extract.  With the mixer on low, blend in flour.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in the cocoa powder and place on baking sheet.  If the dough is too hard to handle, refrigerate for 30-60 minutes before shaping into balls.  Bake for 10 minutes or until cookies are just barely set.  Let cool on baking sheet for 3-5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

When cookies have reached room temperature, after about 30-45 minutes, roll in confectioner’s sugar until completely coated.  Store in an airtight container.  Makes 4 ½ dozen.

Workshop December 7, 2011

I’ve been reading Dr. James Dobson’s “Bringing Up Girls,” and it’s been quite enlightening.  I think it’s a great book for moms of boys, too!  In it, Dobson discusses the importance of parents knowing what their girls (and boys) are thinking and staying connected with them emotionally.  He says, “Your children’s successes or failures in many of life’s endeavors will depend on the quality of the relationships you share during their childhood years” (p.60).  The best way to build that bond of security and love is by spending time together.

This is not a new idea for me, but even as a home school mom, I have to be intentional about spending time with each of my three children individually.  Everything we do is together, and that is not a bad thing!  However, I believe I must have that quality one-on-one time with each child.  With a constant flow of laundry, meal planning, grocery shopping, paying bills, cleaning, errands, church commitments, and play dates and other activities, that one-on-one time won’t just happen.  I must plan it!

So today, I began something with my children we have named Workshop.  After school work was finished for the day, I took each child for some individual time on an activity of his/her choice.  Luke was first, and he and I made homemade play dough and cut out shapes, cookies, spaghetti, and even filled a few tooth cavities!  It was fun, and we both enjoyed our time together.

Then Lindsay and I made Turkish Delight, a candy first made in Turkey about 500 years ago.  It was an activity included in our home school lessons several weeks ago that we’ve not had time to do.  One of the ingredients was lemon rind, so I was able to show Lindsay how to get the rind from a fresh lemon.  She was disappointed that our candy has to set in the refrigerator overnight before we roll it in powdered sugar.  I think she was looking forward to a treat right away!

Logan wanted me to teach him how to play a song on the piano (about one of only three I know!), so I sat down with him and showed him the first part of the song.  He enjoyed that uninterrupted time, and the smile on his face was worth it all!

With all three, I spent about an hour and 15 minutes.  Time well spent, I would say!  I’d like to do this at least twice a week with them, but it does depend on the week.  Some ideas we’ve come up with to do together are:  take a walk, read books, play a game, talk, color, make a craft, style hair, do our nails, research a topic of interest, etc.

I really want my children to know that they can come and talk to their dad and me about anything because we have spent time building a relationship of trust and respect.  When I think about it, that’s how God feels about us as His children, too!

Thank You God November 21, 2011

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  I look forward to time spent with family and living life at a slower pace for a few days.  It’s a time to be thankful, not just for the blessings we have received from God, but also for the things we’ve prayed for that we’ve not received.  It is really quite easy to praise God for the things He gives us, but what about when he gives us a “no?”  Well, I’m convinced that’s when we need to praise Him even more, and as we do God will allow our faith to come in and carry us through.  God gives us these times to grow our faith and dependence on Him.  If we never struggled in trials, would we need Him?

“I will praise You forever, because You have done it” (Psalm 52:9).  David’s words remind us that we can fill in the blank for “it.”  “It” can be anything and everything God does, whether it’s what we wanted or not!  We must trust Him and praise Him because He alone is the One who has the power to hear us and listen, the power to work, and the power to answer.  He always has our best interest at heart, and we must remember that He created us and knows us and He can see the big picture of our lives.  I’m so thankful that I can trust Him to take care of me.

After studying about the animal kingdom, our school curriculum encouraged the kids to write a prayer or poem of thanksgiving to God for His creation of animals.  The following is a poem that Lindsay wrote:

“Thank You God”

Thank you, God, for the animals you made,

You made them great, not a bit delayed.

Big and small,

Short and tall,

God above, You made them all.

Thank you, God, for horses that run,

All of this that You have done.

I think about the elephant’s strong

and of their trunks so long.

The birds fly in the sky,

Oh how pretty, oh how high.

Thank you, God, once again,

For all the animals you gave to us!

 

Hot, Hot, Hot November 15, 2011

“Do you know what the most dangerous part of the body is?” questioned my 9-year old last night.  “The eye?  The heart?” I responded.  Logan said, “The tongue.”  I asked, “Are you reading in James, chapter 3?”  Surprised that I knew where his Bible was turned to, Logan showed me verse 6 which says “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.  The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire by hell.”

You see, Logan had no idea that the first few verses of James 3 were the exact same verses I had just been studying with my small women’s group at church Sunday night.  It was like God was saying to me through Logan, “Don’t forget My word.  Put it into practice.”  I admit, that in my frustration and impatience, I tend to really let my kids know how I feel about what they have done.  But what have I done with my tongue?

I am a very visual person, and as I read through verse 6, I can’t help but picture a tongue lashing out of the mouth on fire.  When our mouths are open, the oxygen fans the flame and makes the fire hotter and stronger.  However, if we simply shut our mouths and cut off that oxygen supply and douse our tongues in saliva (which acts as the water), the flame is put out.

In the heat of the moment of frustration, we must learn to cool down.  James 1:19 says we must be “slow to speak and slow to become angry.”  One friend of mine repeats the fruit of the spirit before doing or saying anything.  Maybe leaving the room (or the house!) or sending your child to another room is a good option.  As mothers, we must remember that harsh and unnecessary words are not productive.  Correction (pointing out the sin), forgiveness, and restoration are what is important!

I love how God uses my children to work on me!