Speaking of birthdays...

I was thinking about some of the things we do at our house to make birthdays special. Some of the things have been passed down through the years and others are things we have started with our own family. Here are some of the birthday things we do for each child and I was wondering if you would share some of your own family's birthday traditions too...

* Buttering the birthday girl (or boy's) nose. This started with my Great-Grandfather. He hated the tradition of birthday spankings so instead he would butter his kid's noses. It is always a contest to see who will be the first one to remember and get the honor of buttering the birthday girl or boy's nose! When I was younger I thought everyone did this! Funny!

* Dates with Dad. This is probably THE highlight of each child's birthday. They get to go on a special date with Daddy sometime during the week of their birthday. Usually out to eat and then an activity of the child's choice (walks in the park, movies, trying on shoes at the mall--Maya!, etc.) They look forward to this special time with Dad all year through.

* Birthday meals. Each child gets to plan the menu for the whole day of their birthday. Today we had crepes with blueberries for breakfast, spaghetti and green beans for lunch, and baked potatoes for dinner with brownies for dessert.

* Usually we do the song singing, nose-buttering, candle blowing-out and gift giving first thing in the morning at breakfast. The birthday child gets the place of honor at the table and we have the table decorated (flowers for the girls, balloons for Benjamin) and all the party plates, napkins, hats, whatever, so that when they come in to the dining room first thing in the morning they know "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!" That way we can enjoy the birthday stuff for a whole day instead of just a couple hours. This year Sarah decided to open a gift after each meal instead of all of them at once... such self-control! The other kids and I have usually made some cards, posters, etc. so the room looks really festive!

* A time of special prayers and exhortation for the birthday child. Just a time, usually at a meal, when each member of the family can say something they love about the birthday child and be thankful for him or her.

Anyway, just a little insight into birthday time at our house. I would love it if you would share with me any little traditions or ideas you have done or even thought of doing with your own family....I just love birthdays!

Home!

He's Home! He's Home! Ryan got in around 4:00 yesterday afternoon. It was just perfect since Sarah's birthday is today and since he just got home he got the day off! He is tired but doing fine. He said there are so many things to tell... he got lots of pictures so that will make the storytelling even better. One thing he did say was that the news media is making everything sound a lot worse than it actually is. The devestation is truly terrible but things are pretty calm and people are being well taken care of. Just thought you may want to know. We are so glad he's back!

Sarah is 8!

Today is Sarah's birthday! I cannot believe she is EIGHT!
She is such a wonderful daughter! I love watching her grow and mature physically, emotionally, and spiritually. She is such an active girl with a wonderful, creative imagination. I cannot believe all the things she can do! She is extremely thoughtful and sensitive to others. She is also a leader (naturally, being the oldest). One of her biggest achievements this year was to quit sucking her fingers! She has sucked her two middle fingers since birth and just this year she has completely done away with that habit! We are all so relieved! (I was having visions of her going to bed with her husband with her fingers in her mouth!)

She still loves horses and dogs and wants to be an animal trainer and a vet when she grows up. She loves wearing blue jeans and boots. Her favorite colors are green and blue. She has two pen-pals she writes to faithfully. She loves to color and paint and create things. She has written three books-- the first one was about her cat Whisper, the second two are part of a series she is writing called, "The Horse Chronicles." Here is an excerpt from the first book called "Ginger":
After she was done with her horse chores, Dakota went inside the house where her Dad and her mom and David were sitting at the dinner table waiting for her. Dakota said, "I have already named the Chestnut mare. Her name is Ginger." Her dad said, "I thought you might name her. You may ride her tomorrow with David." Dakota said, "Thank you Dad." She ate her dinner and went to bed. Before she went to sleep she was thinking of where Ginger and she would go on their ride the next day.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

I love being your Mommy! I love you Sar-Bear!

Home again

I got a text from Ryan today that said he should be home tomorrow afternoon sometime. He has to do some political chit-chat, shake-hand kind of thing with some big-whig before he can come home....We can't wait to see him and hear all his stories.

Quick Update

I finally got to talk to Ryan on the phone. He is doing fine. He said there are so many federal, state, county law enforcement officers in Galveston they are all just looking for something to do! They pull debris off the road as they come to it, they are helping evacuate some of the medically unstable people left on the island, they are providing security by being a presence. He said they have been sleeping on cots by the pool of a resort on the beach! (No electric or water so it is more comfortable to be outside.) He said today may be his last day. The mayor of Galveston is trying to decide if they should evacuate the whole island which will mean a door-to-door search of the houses and apartments left standing. I guess we will know more later today. Thanks for the prayers!

The Sage in Bloom is like Perfume....

One of the very interesting things I didn't realize about living in the desert...after it rains, the sage blooms! A whole landscape of browns and dull greens will come alive with many different shades of purples and pinks! It is absolutely gorgeous! After our last rainstorm, the kids and I went on a sage picture-taking expedition. Here are some of the fruits of our labors.












It amazes me how out in this prickly, stickery, dry desert-place, God is consistently bringing beauty and a softness right to our front door. There are the most colorful birds here, flowers blooming on a mass tangle of cactus, even the rocks show forth their beautiful colors. "God's beauty is all around, simply waiting to be found."

Message from Ryan

Here is the text message I received from Ryan late this afternoon:

"Damage is indescribable"

then a few minutes later...

"We are ok
providing security
phone service is sporadic"

So, now you know everything I know. Please continue to pray for all the displaced families and first responders.

Y...Ike....s!!!

So, here's the scoop...

Ever heard of a little rain storm called "Ike"? That is where Ryan is. He was deployed to go help with hurricane issues that arise as people are evacuated and homes are destroyed. In the last three days he has visited San Antonio, Beeville, Houston (where he ran into two cousins of mine in Wal-Mart!), Beaumont, and back to San Antonio. He has been sleeping in the back of a truck or on the bus and no, there haven't been showers. He will be arriving in Galveston by 7 AM Saturday morning (at least that is the plan right now) and will probably be gone 1 1/2 to 2 weeks depending on damage, etc. I will keep you posted as I know more. I may not be able to talk to him for a few days depending on phone service.
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The kids and I are doing fine. We went to see my brother who lives and hour and a half from us yesterday. My cousin's football team was playing in the town where my brother lives so I got to see Jeremy in action as a coach! It was neat but wierd-- he's 6 years younger than me-- coaches are supposed to be old guys! The kids loved it!
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School is going really well. The kids are just zooming through their math books and I am so impressed at how quickly they are learning and understanding new concepts.
Here are some new skills they have learned:

Benjamin: the Pledge of Allegiance, able to identify all the continents and oceans and directions (N,S,E,W) on a map, some patriotic songs, days of the week/months of the year, all of Psalms 100 and 121 (plus various other verses), books of the New Testament, how to correctly write his numbers 0-9

Maya: has beautiful handwriting, is beginning to read with confidence, place value (to the hundreds place)-- which includes writing the numbers and saying them correctly and showing that she understands the concept by "building" the number with cubes, all of Psalms 100 and 121, books of the New Testament, identifying places on a map (example: India, Philippines, Jerusalem, etc.)

Sarah: reading very well, advancing in math quickly-- I started her out in an easy book to make sure she hadn't missed out on any basics because of our crazy year last year, she will finish it by Christmas and be into multiplication after the first of the year-- all of Psalms 100, 121, 23 and 1 plus lots of other verses throughout the Old and New testaments, the books of the Old and New Testaments, she loves to write in her journal

They all LOVE puzzles and listening to me read to them. Often, our evenings find us camped out in the living room with me reading to them and the three of them sprawled out on the floor working puzzles. They love collecting bugs and rocks-- you should see our back patio-- it is a working rock and bug farm! Come by for the tour!

I am anxious to finish up our curriculum and start the next one! We will be finishing it in December and starting a new one in January. I alternate what I buy every 6 months to break up the cost for us....I buy Sonlight in November and Math-U-See in the summer. It has worked out pretty well so far doing it this way.

It is so exciting to see the children growing in knowledge and wisdom! I LOVE that God has given me the privilege of teaching our children at home! What joy!

What a day!

So, Ryan left for work at 5:30PM. At about 6:30 he calls me and tells me he is being deployed and could I pack him a suitcase. Trying to remain calm and think of only the absolute relevant questions, we had a conversation that went something like this:

Ryan: I need you to pack me a suitcase, I have to be in (name of large city we live 30 miles from) before 9:00 and I still have to find out what vehicle I'm taking and check out some stuff from the station.
Me: Do you know how long you will be gone? I mean, should I pack you 2 pair of underwear or 6?
Ryan: I don't know.
Me: Do you know where you are going? Do you need any warm clothes?
Ryan: I don't know.
Me: Do you need bedding/towels/etc. or just clothes?
Ryan: I don't know. Gotta go. I'll be home in about an hour to grab my stuff. Love ya. Bye.

OK, I don't know if you have ever been in this situation but it is a really wierd emotional thing. I'm worried, fearful, but I also need to be able to think rationally and be able to discern things I have no idea about (ie. how many pairs of underwear the guy will need.) I also can't let on that I am worried and fearful because HE is so excited and the kids will take on my attitude so....

I take out the largest suitcase I can find and pack six pairs of everything figuring he can wear things more than once if need be (you know the old turn the underwear inside out routine?), 2 towels, a sheet, some instant oatmeal, earplugs, and flip flops for the shower (assuming there is one). Oh, yeah, plus his uniforms.

He finally shows up at about 8:00, grabs his suitcase and says, "Man, this is heavy, what all do you have in here?" (I just laugh :) He kisses the kids and I good-bye and flies out the door with two sandwiches and a Gatorade in his hand. Our last conversation went something like this:

Me: "So do you know where you are going?"
Ryan: "I don't know."
Me: "Do you know how long you will be gone?"
Ryan: "I don't know."
Me: "Oh, OK, well, bye."
Ryan: "Bye."

He did mention he will probably be working 20 hour days and be sleeping on a cot in someone's barn (I guess he can forget about the shower). This kind of thing is what he lives for, it's why he loves his job-- oh the adventure and excitement of it all! I guess it isn't necessary for me to know where he is? As long as he knows where he is....and God always knows where he is.....and I know where I am.....and God knows where I am.....and I will stop rambling now, it's what I do when I have been uprooted to any degree....

Oso

I have the best running partner in the world!
He is always faithful-- never sick or too lazy to go with me.
He is flexible-- ready and willing to run anytime I am ready and able.
He is always giddy with joy to be running!
He lets me set the pace and never lags behind or pushes ahead.
His eagerness is an encouragement to me to not miss a day.
He will run off any early morning chasers who insist on invading our personal space.
He greets me with a smile and a kiss every morning (it's ok, Ryan knows!)
He is an extra set of eyes and ears, a loud voice if need be.
He never disagrees with me about the course I set.
He has committed to being my friend.
In spite of my faults, he loves me. And...
He is the best running partner in the world!!

Who's Confused?

Did you know we have a frog living in our bathtub drain? When Benjamin was about 2 years old, Ryan started telling him the gurgle as the bath water drained out of the tub was an old frog that lived in the drain. Every time Benjamin took a bath he would press his little face to the drain as the water gurgled out of the tub and look for the frog. It was so cute! Well, today, 2 1/2 years and 2 houses later, as I was helping Benjamin get out of his bath, he insisted he had to look for the frog first before he could get out! He insists the frog is stuck down there and must be rescued! What is a mom to say? Ribbit!!!
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