big brother

Today Simeon put Hope to sleep for the first time. I was busy and I asked him to help me. I could hear him singing to her. He tiptoed out of the room, and told me to go look at her. She was laying like a princess in her sister's bed, with the blankets up around her shoulders and her hair all smoothed back. What a great brother!

mushroom hunt

We are studying plants and trees in Vol 1. We went for a "mushroom
hunt" this morning and collected about 20 mushrooms. My 4 yr old put
the mushrooms in order from smallest to largest. Then we flicked some
spores onto a glass slide and compared spores to pollen under the
microscope (very cool!) While we had the microscope out we looked at a
dandelion seed we picked up on our walk, and watched the rest float
like helicopters when we blew on them. Then we dissected mushrooms and
ate them (store bought of course) for lunch!

So after our walk, my 4 year old says "Mom I know how to say mushroom
in spanish". Surprised, I asked, "Really? How?" And he said
"Mushrrrrrrroom" (rolling his r). The 8 year old said, "Then how do
you say 'tree' in spanish?". The 4 year old said, "That's
easy....trrrree-o".

a money factory

Jude asked me, "Why does Daddy have to go to work all the time?"  I answered, "Because he has to make money for us"....After thinking for a minute, he asked again, "Does Daddy work in a money factory?"

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our Christmas tree

I don't know why we thought a real Christmas tree
would be such a great idea this year. The vacuum
cleaner has gotten clogged from all the pine needles,
all of the bottom ornaments have been pulled off and
eaten or broken, and the tree itself has been pulled
over twice. Christmastime with toddlers is so much fun!

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a boy and a mouse

Simeon's destructive side got the best of him again
yesterday when he found a mouse, a rock, and a big toy
truck. The angry neighbor came over to tell me that he
had smashed dead mouse guts all over her back porch,
and that he and her son couldn't play for the rest of
the day. After we talked about it a bit, he was SO
broken and crying. He said, "Mom, I'm so mad at
myself. I don't know why I do things like that!" I
said it's because he's a boy. God made him to hunt things.

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impossible requests

For Christmas, Liesel wants a "real horse", and Jude
wants a "real Barney". The only one who MIGHT get what
he is hoping for is Simeon, who wants a BB gun.

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Jude's question

Tonight as I was telling Jude a story about when I was
a little girl, I explained that I lived with Opa and
Oma, and they took care of me......He asked, "Why, did
your parents die?"

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great kids

I realized tonight just how great my kids really are.
Right in the middle of their karate class (the 3
oldest kids are in the same class), a kid vomited all
over the gym floor. I, the kid's mom, and the karate
instructor all ran to get paper towels, buckets, and a
mop. While I was cleaning up the mess with paper
towels, ALL 3 of my kids came over and asked me how
they could help. It was a proud moment. I told them
some kids would be grossed out or making fun of the
sick kid. But not Liesel, Simeon and Jude. (Jude
himself was gagging as he was trying to "help")

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a sock puppet

I woke up yesterday morning to the sound of a sock
puppet eating the Cheerios off of Hope's high chair. I
really married a great man!

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Santa Claus

When Liesel was sitting on Santa's lap, she asked,
"Are you the REAL Santa Claus?" His elastic beard chin
straps were so obvious, and yet he said, "I am the
real thing!"

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fire drill

When reviewing our family's house fire drill rules,
Jude says, "It would be so cool if our whole house was
on fire, because then we could roast marshmallows!"

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Santa Claus vs. Jesus

On our way home from the "Winter Concert" (they're not
allowed to say "Christmas" anymore), we explained to
the kids how some people have gotten colleges and
schools to stop saying the word "Christmas" because it
refers to Christ, and some people don't believe in
Christ so they have influenced the schools to broaden
their audiences. From the back seat, Liesel said,
"Well, Michael believes in SANTA CLAUS". I asked
Liesel if SHE believes in Santa Claus too, and she
said, "No I believe in Jesus, but I DO LIKE Santa
Claus because he brought me some toys one time."

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Jude......again

Tonight we attended the Tulsa Community College's
"Winter Concert" (They aren't allowed to say
"Christmas" anymore I guess. Between songs, when there
was DEAD silence in the auditorium, Jude says, "Mom, I
don't want to listen to this anymore, this is
ANNOYING, it's hurting my eardrums."

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Jude's prayers

After reading in Proverbs about following wisdom, not
folly, Jude prayed. He said, "Folly, get out of my
heart, or I'm going to get in a bulldozer and run over you!"

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Simeon almost 8

I mentioned to Simeon the other day that he was almost 8. Instead of the usual reaction of "I can't wait until my birthday", he said, "I know, Mom, I'm sad". I asked why he was sad, and he said, "Because I don't want to grow up and leave you and Dad."

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Liesel's letter to Santa

Liesel's letter to Santa:

 

Dear Santa Clause,

Please tell me more about Jesus. And please give me a horse and a spanking chart and a necklace. Love Liesel

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power peanuts

This morning, I asked Jude to help me unload the
dishwasher. He was scooping peanuts up off the table
with his tongue. I asked him again later to help me,
and he said, "MOM, I'm getting power!"

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a new toothbrush

Liesel got to open a Christmas present early last
night. Her toothbrush accidentally got flushed down
the toilet when it got flung across the bathroom just
as someone else was flushing the toilet. She got to
take it to Christmas show-and-tell today and tell the story.

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innocent inquiry

At the Outdoor Adventure today, put on by the Boy Scouts for prospective Homeschool members, there were many activities to participate in: archery, stardome, BB gun range, zipline, among other things. One of the stations was a reptile display, featuring boa constrictors, rattlesnakes and other reptiles. The two pimply teenage boys who so thoroughly gave us a full explanation of different types of snakes, their habitats, and their eating habits asked the children if anybody had any questions. Jude was the first one to raise his hand and ask:

"What are those red spots on your face?"

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Miss Broken Arrow