Okay, we, well Jay has been assigned to the ELCA's Region 3 for his first call. One may ask, what does that mean? Well, as of right now that means we could be moving to South Dakota, North Dakota, or Minnesota. As a family, we are strongly favoring South Dakota, so we are hoping and praying that's where he will be placed within the region. Sometime after March 5th we will know which synod within the region he has been assigned to.
We'll let you know when we know.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
A Learned Lesson
The kids have learned the importance of saving their money to buy the things they want. So when they have something they really want they tend to ask for money or gift cards for their birthdays or certain holidays that warrant gifts. So, they save their allowance and the money they are given and any they may earn while doing special things around the house.
Well, one day last week the kids and I went shopping. They are responsible for their own money, that way if it gets lost it's on them. I know . . . it sounds harsh. Anyway, after our shopping trip, about two days later, Zack realized he had misplaced his money.
The bedroom has been cleaned, the van has been cleaned, and the laundry has been folded and put away . . . no luck in finding the money. So, it was time to venture out and rummage through the trash before it was put out by the curb. The girls even helped him. They all found some rubber gloves and dug in.
Still no money . . . oh by the way, he took it out of his wallet and put it in a snack sized storage baggie and took it to the store. How is that being responsible? I'm going to guess he dropped it when he was putting it back into his coat pocket. So, it is official, Zack has learned a valuable lesson about being responsible for his money . . . . all $22 that he has misplaced (lost).
Well, one day last week the kids and I went shopping. They are responsible for their own money, that way if it gets lost it's on them. I know . . . it sounds harsh. Anyway, after our shopping trip, about two days later, Zack realized he had misplaced his money.
The bedroom has been cleaned, the van has been cleaned, and the laundry has been folded and put away . . . no luck in finding the money. So, it was time to venture out and rummage through the trash before it was put out by the curb. The girls even helped him. They all found some rubber gloves and dug in.
Still no money . . . oh by the way, he took it out of his wallet and put it in a snack sized storage baggie and took it to the store. How is that being responsible? I'm going to guess he dropped it when he was putting it back into his coat pocket. So, it is official, Zack has learned a valuable lesson about being responsible for his money . . . . all $22 that he has misplaced (lost).
Valentine's gifts
Valentine's Day for us has never been anything extravagant for us. Don't get me wrong, the kids do get things . . . they typically get a card, a movie, and some candy. We just have never gotten into the whole decorating for the day or having a special dinner. I have to admit it is always nice seeing the kids get excited about the little things.
Mackenzie is our giver and crafter. She loves to make things for everyone and give them unique things she makes. So, on Valentine's Day she made (painted) unique pictures for the family. This was the one she painted for me, isn't it adorable.
Mackenzie is our giver and crafter. She loves to make things for everyone and give them unique things she makes. So, on Valentine's Day she made (painted) unique pictures for the family. This was the one she painted for me, isn't it adorable.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Art 101
Well, since the kids have taken such an interest in painting, I thought it might be a good idea to give them a little formal instruction. They have taken some basic art classes at co-op and Cassie has taken some formal lessons in painting. Last year we purchased LifePac's Basic Drawing curriculum with Thomas Kinkade as the instructor, and we just incorporated it into our schooling this week. This curriculum you can find at AOP website. Check them out!!
The kids love spending time drawing and this curriculum will give them a broader exposure to the terminology and techniques. Then they'll be able to draw the pictures more skillfully before painting them.
I know, don't they look excited to be watching the instructor. No, it wasn't me it was Mr. Thomas Kinkade himself talking about the two types of lines that are used in drawing and seen in all objects around us.
The kids love spending time drawing and this curriculum will give them a broader exposure to the terminology and techniques. Then they'll be able to draw the pictures more skillfully before painting them.
I know, don't they look excited to be watching the instructor. No, it wasn't me it was Mr. Thomas Kinkade himself talking about the two types of lines that are used in drawing and seen in all objects around us.
After they completed the lesson they took a test and they all got perfect scores . . . Yeah!!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Really . . . more cupcakes!!
Okay, I made and the kids decorated cupcakes Saturday night for church on Sunday. Now Mackenzie wanted to make and decorate more cupcakes for her Brownie Valentine's Day party. So, Monday night I baked more cupcakes and a small round cake so Mackenzie could decorate cupcakes for the girls in her troop.
She has gotten really good at holding the icing bag without making a mess.
I even got to show her how to make some swirl flowers and other things with a new tip. She had fun.
I'm so proud of her. She actually took time to make some Valentine's crafts for all the girls and then she made fun cupcakes to share with them. With the help of me and her sister, she decorated a small round cake for her leader.
She has gotten really good at holding the icing bag without making a mess.
I even got to show her how to make some swirl flowers and other things with a new tip. She had fun.
I'm so proud of her. She actually took time to make some Valentine's crafts for all the girls and then she made fun cupcakes to share with them. With the help of me and her sister, she decorated a small round cake for her leader.
Cupcakes
Well, Sunday we had a soup luncheon at the church where Jay serves as the vicar. As with any church function that has food, members sign up for various things to bring. Well, we signed up for vegetable soup and a cake. Well, the kids love making - okay, I bake them - so, they love decorating the cupcakes. The were excited they got to decorate 8 cupcakes each. Afterwards, they picked there favorites.
Zack is holding his masterpiece . . . Spaghetti and meatballs.
Cassie made the cutest one with a heart and then she added a flower. She called dibs on it, but forgot to mark it in the container, so by the time she got through the soup line, her cupcake had disappeared. Evidently, someone else thought it was too cute to pass up.
Since I had learned how to do the basket weave, I made a cake for the luncheon and did the basket weave. Practice, practice. Well, of course, Mackenzie wanted me to show her how to do the weave on a cupcake. So I did and she added some flowers.
They had fun decorating the cupcakes and I think everyone at church liked them too. As you can see, there were Oscar the grouch, Elmo, hearts, spaghetti n'meatballs, colorful trees, pretzels, Cookie Monster and others.
Zack is holding his masterpiece . . . Spaghetti and meatballs.
Cassie made the cutest one with a heart and then she added a flower. She called dibs on it, but forgot to mark it in the container, so by the time she got through the soup line, her cupcake had disappeared. Evidently, someone else thought it was too cute to pass up.
Since I had learned how to do the basket weave, I made a cake for the luncheon and did the basket weave. Practice, practice. Well, of course, Mackenzie wanted me to show her how to do the weave on a cupcake. So I did and she added some flowers.
They had fun decorating the cupcakes and I think everyone at church liked them too. As you can see, there were Oscar the grouch, Elmo, hearts, spaghetti n'meatballs, colorful trees, pretzels, Cookie Monster and others.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
A trip to the museum
Well, we have heard wonderful things about various programs that are offered at the Columbus Museum of Art for the kids. They have an activity on the first Saturday, another every Saturday, and one one Sunday a month. We have debated over the last couple of years whether or not to invest in a membership, but have decided in the past to pass. Now that the kids are showing a huge interest in painting, we figured this might be a good time to invest in a membership even though we will only be able to use it for 4-5 months.
Our membership cards arrived last week, so we got to take advantage of the 1st Saturday program. Well, Jay, Zack and Mackenzie did (Cassie and I were out delivering). They got to visit the Time Made Real exhibition which included sculptures from Tim Lewis' collection.
Jay took this picture to give an idea of the size of the sculptures to Mackenzie.
After they toured and viewed the sculptures, they got to make their own mock sculpture. First, they picked their Styrofoam brick.
Once they found a seat, they began their sculptures. First they had to decide what they wanted to "sculpt", then they drew it on a sheet of paper. Once they were done drawing they cut out the pattern. Then they used their pattern to sculpt their design out of the foam brick.
Our membership cards arrived last week, so we got to take advantage of the 1st Saturday program. Well, Jay, Zack and Mackenzie did (Cassie and I were out delivering). They got to visit the Time Made Real exhibition which included sculptures from Tim Lewis' collection.
Jay took this picture to give an idea of the size of the sculptures to Mackenzie.
After they toured and viewed the sculptures, they got to make their own mock sculpture. First, they picked their Styrofoam brick.
Once they found a seat, they began their sculptures. First they had to decide what they wanted to "sculpt", then they drew it on a sheet of paper. Once they were done drawing they cut out the pattern. Then they used their pattern to sculpt their design out of the foam brick.
After they carved their foam then they could add detailed carvings.
Mackenzie shows off her eagle. When they were done sculpting they took their sculptures to be attached to a platform (a piece of wood they painted).
Zack is standing (out of frame) next to Mackenzie, but you can see his fish.
When they were done, Jay took them around to see other things in the museum.
I am very excited about our new membership. Unfortunately, Cassie and I won't be able to enjoy it as much as the other ones. The Saturday activities will be a great time for Jay to spend with the younger ones, while Cassie and I have quality time delivery our weekend shoppers.
I do plan on taking them to a couple of the Sunday events and then maybe we can go during the week to see other things within the museum.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
It is getting closer . . .
It's hard to believe that in less than two weeks we will have a better idea of where we will be moving.
Mackenzie was asking a few weeks ago when we would know where we are moving to. I told her that right now we know we will be moving to one of the 50 states and in four weeks we will have a better idea. That was two weeks ago. We just got an email about a prayer service and we can't believe two weeks have passed already and we only have less than two weeks to go. It seems that on February 18th at 5:30 p.m. we will join the other individuals waiting assignment at seminary for a prayer service and then envelopes will be dispersed that identify what region each candidate has been assigned to. So, that will narrow it down for us, but it still won't give us a definite place. Hopefully, by early March we will have a more pinpoint location, at least the synod withing the assigned region, which Jay will begin interviewing in. Then it will be a matter of time - a church to call him.
Mackenzie was asking a few weeks ago when we would know where we are moving to. I told her that right now we know we will be moving to one of the 50 states and in four weeks we will have a better idea. That was two weeks ago. We just got an email about a prayer service and we can't believe two weeks have passed already and we only have less than two weeks to go. It seems that on February 18th at 5:30 p.m. we will join the other individuals waiting assignment at seminary for a prayer service and then envelopes will be dispersed that identify what region each candidate has been assigned to. So, that will narrow it down for us, but it still won't give us a definite place. Hopefully, by early March we will have a more pinpoint location, at least the synod withing the assigned region, which Jay will begin interviewing in. Then it will be a matter of time - a church to call him.
Where's the week gone?
Boy time flies when you're having fun . . . and you want to stay warm. We decided to go shopping today, and while we were driving to Sam's Club I asked Cassie if this was the first time we had been out since Sunday night (we went to family's to watch the Super Bowl). After deep contemplation, we decided we had not left the house since we came home Sunday night. My oh my, what have we done for three days without stepping out of the house and without causing us to lose our sanity?
We have accomplished the usual suspects . . . school, cleaning, more school, laundry, oh yeah and more school. But, it's hard to believe we haven't ventured out anywhere -- we always have to go somewhere. We did need to go and buy shoes; however, I did decide Monday night that the Internet and Payless.com could help us accomplish that task.
So, really what have we occupied our time with? Let's see . . .
* We've watched the birds at our feeder,
Aren't they a beautiful couple?
He's pretty, too. The bird, but . . .
* But this little guy, Odie, is HANDSOME and we love entertaining him,
* The kids decided to display their artistic abilities and paint some portraits,
* Oh yeah, we did torment the dog, poor Chloe. We wanted to see if she looked better as Miley or,
Hannah Montana. What do you think?
* We got to watch a precious sleeping baby,
* The kids did paint some more . . . I think we are fulfilling our arts requirements between the instruments and the painting.
Nice job on all your creative pieces of art!!
I think what has really kept Zack and Mackenzie busy is their playhouse. It took over the living room, so I told them they needed to downsize or put it away and rebuild after Friday night. Well, they asked if they could just move it. So they did, and now it has taken over Mackenzie's room. I guess they plan on sleeping in there the next couple of nights.
They gave me a tour . . .
they have a house guest right now, as Chloe is visiting.
they have a house guest right now, as Chloe is visiting.
The overall living space is quite adequate for an 11 and 8 year old and a 125# Saint Bernard. They have ingeniously lit it up the place with the light sabers from the Wii, a lighthouse nightlight, book lights, and torches made from flashlights and construction paper.
Here they are having a pop at their dining table.
Well, I'm glad they found ways to occupy their time. I actually had the opportunity to continue reading my book, The Shack, and I'm almost done. I have to say, it's been a very enjoyable week. Not too busy.
Now the weekend craziness happens . . .
Monday, February 2, 2009
Our weekend in review
We had such a crazy weekend. Well, probably not any more crazier than the average household. I do want to let everyone know, my cousin and her family reside in Paducah, Kentucky and they weathered the lack of electricity as long as they could before they finally headed to Missouri to stay with family. Our weekend might have been crazy, but at least we had power, well, at least we did on Saturday.
Saturday was my dad's birthday . . . Happy Birthday, Dad!! I hope you had a great time in Des Moines.
We had a lot of feathered and furry visitors at our feeders this weekend. I guess they are deciding it's time to venture out and find some food.
This little guy we would normally run off; however, due to the current weather conditions we figured it wouldn't hurt to let him dine a little. He almost took advantage of our hospitality at the base of the bird feeder. Below, you will see he contemplated climbing the pole to get more. So we did have to run him off at that point.
Our sources of heat!!
The kids found plenty to do . . . the girls read for a while, Zack played on his DS, and then they ventured down to the basement, flashlights in hand, and brought up a ton of Littlest Pet Shop things to play with. I sat on the back porch and read The Shack.
Saturday was my dad's birthday . . . Happy Birthday, Dad!! I hope you had a great time in Des Moines.
We had a lot of feathered and furry visitors at our feeders this weekend. I guess they are deciding it's time to venture out and find some food.
This little guy we would normally run off; however, due to the current weather conditions we figured it wouldn't hurt to let him dine a little. He almost took advantage of our hospitality at the base of the bird feeder. Below, you will see he contemplated climbing the pole to get more. So we did have to run him off at that point.
Mackenzie and Zack love playing out in the snow. The normal child would come in and warm up with a cup of hot chocolate, not Mackenzie . . .
. . . she came in for some strawberries.
Cassie and I did have to venture out and deliver papers in this crazy stuff. I have to admit it wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. Most of the main roads and side roads were drive able. The subdivision roads were drive able; however, the cul-de-sacs were horrible. But we got our delivering done with no major incident. We did help a woman and her children get her car "unstuck", as she was pulling out of her driveway she backed over a huge mound of snow and got stuck. Having been in a similar predicament on Thursday, we offered to help to the best of our ability and we were able to get her out.
Earlier, I mentioned we had power on Saturday . . . well, Sunday morning around 10:00 a.m. there was a huge boom (transformer blew) and then all our electricity went out. Jay was gone preaching and Doug & Karen were gone too. After a brief panic, we built a fire and stayed warm by it or near the propane heater.
Our sources of heat!!
The kids found plenty to do . . . the girls read for a while, Zack played on his DS, and then they ventured down to the basement, flashlights in hand, and brought up a ton of Littlest Pet Shop things to play with. I sat on the back porch and read The Shack.
Once Jay got home, he hooked up the generator to take care of a few things. Then we shut everything down and headed to his brother's to shower and watch the Super Bowl game. However, before we left Jay and our neighbor had decided it was a furry friend (a squirrel) that was the culprit to the transformer blowing. Let's just say, he didn't live to tell about it. Luckily, the power company was able to come out and fix the problem, so when we got home the lights were on!!
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