Go to the Ant (with guns?)

We've been working on memorizing some passages of scripture as a family, and we recently began working on Proverbs 6:6-11. Kris was helping out at church one evening while I was doing "Bible time" with the kids, and we thought it would be fun to make up motions to surprise him the next night. We had a blast.
The next night, we gathered around for Bible time and excitement built as we anticipated performing our motions for Daddy. When the time came, the three boys left the room.
Kris was baffled as to why they suddenly left, and one of them said he needed to get a gun.
"How could they possibly need a gun for their Bible verse?"
I sank a bit lower in my chair, looking guilty. "Actually, they kind of do need a gun. We made up motions. You'll see."

So we did them.
"Go to the ant, O sluggard; (Crawl fingers of one hand along the other hard, like a tiny ant, walking)
consider her ways, and be wise. (Stroke your beard)
Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, (Salute)
she prepares her bread in summer (Knead bread)
and gathers her food in harvest. (Gather food off the ground)
How long will you lie there, O sluggard? (Tap your watch)
When will you arise from your sleep? (Pretend to sleep)
A little sleep, a little slumber, (Continue to sleep)
a little folding of the hands to rest, (Fold hands/twiddle thumbs)
and poverty will come upon you like a robber, (Cry out in surprise)
and want like an armed man." (Aim your weapon of choice - they boys' favorite part!)

What a fun verse this was to memorize!

Symbolic Stones

Our journey to Coram Deo Academy takes us through a neighborhood, and last October on the way home from school, Thomas called my attention to a particular yard.

"Mom! Look! That's really neat!!"

"What do you see, Thomas?"

"Mommy, that person who owns that house put up the Ten Commandments in their yard!"

Halloween.

Tombstones.

I'm glad that the things of God were on Thomas's mind, anyway! I think it's interesting that the Ten Commandments do loom large like tombstones in that they point out our complete inability to attain acceptance before God. No one in all the world, except Jesus Christ, has ever obeyed them perfectly. They are a bit symbolic of our doom, like tombstones, if we take Christ out of the picture.

Flattered by a Two-Year-Old

Monday, I set Daniel up in his room to have "room time" for much longer than normal so I could try to make a dent in some packing. After quite a while, he was ready to be free, and definitely wanting my attention. That's when I heard his sweet voice call from the bedroom, "Mommy, you're brewful (beautiful)." I will say, that's a terrific way to get a spontaneous hug from Mommy!

Yum! Yum!

***WARNING: This blog post could cause you to get the creeps.***

A while back, I thought I would do a little research into what kinds of food dishes to expect in Cambodia. Kris and other friends have told me plenty about it, but I thought the good ole web would help me too. Well, let's just say that I think I made a mistake.


These are fried spiders! Thankfully, Kris says he has never been served spiders. Whew!




This is an item that our new friends Nick and Letty told us about, called "balut" or just "duck egg." Evidently, each egg has a "number," depending on how developed the chick inside is. If it is almost ready to hatch, with feathers and everything, it gets a 10. If it's barely anything but yolk and white, it may be a 0 or 1. What number are you? Take your number, crack it open, and enjoy!

Wow. I think I may try to stay away from this, too. I am totally trusting that if we are served something very, um, unusual, that God will give us grace in that moment to deal with it!

The Illiad and the....what?

Tonight I was quizzing Anna on her Veritas Press History Cards for 2nd grade. She is studying Ancient Greece, and we were discussing Homer when I asked her to name his most popular works.

"The Illiad and the Honda," she said confidently. The what? Then I realized that we owned a Honda Odyssey. She just got a little confused and I got not a little amused!

Peeps

Our dear neighbors found a tiny baby bird a couple of weeks ago. She fell out of the nest in their gutter, and the rest of her siblings didn't make it, but she survived. The Malarchers adopted her and researched what to feed her. We helped them feed her on days they had to be gone for an extended time. She would chirp every 15 to 30 minutes, and then we would give her a few drops of food, which resembled liquid dog food.




It has been fun to watch her grow. Jieun taught her how to fly, and last Saturday she flew onto our deck. It was so fun to watch her sit there, fluttering her wings but staying still, waiting expectantly for some food.





...Until Genny discovered her! Then we panicked! Genny pounced at her several times, while the kids (and I, I must admit) yelled at her to stop! Thankfully, Genny backed off.

We picked up Peeps and I attempted to carry her through the house to the safer front yard. She wiggled out of my hand while I was halfway through the house, and we all enjoyed watching her fly around the house for a few minutes (thankfully, she hadn't just eaten, if you know what I mean!).


I picked her up and put her out front.


Then, when I tried to go back in the house, she flew up and landed on me and wouldn't let go. It's very funny to have a real, wild bird clinging to you like you are her mother!



David came out with me and he enabled me to go back in by keeping her occupied for a little while. Kris found a worm from our compost pile and gave it to Peeps, and Peeps was a bit confused, but not for long. She quickly learned to keep it in her beak, and then swallowed, and swallowed, and swallowed, until the entire, whole, live worm was inside...except for a tiny part that still stuck out of her mouth. It is quite an education for us! David was quite concerned about the worm still sticking out, but she must have been successful digesting it, because she's still flying around our yard.







We have seen her every day this week. How do we know it's Peeps? She stood at the front door this afternoon, chirping. When I opened the door, she stayed, chirping, and ate some dog food pieces from my hand. I'm pretty sure that it was Peeps!

Not your typical trash

Last Friday, I asked Thomas to get his Duckie out of the dryer, as he was clean and dry and ready for cuddling. Shortly afterward, I heard HYSTERICAL laughter from the laundry room. "What in the world?" I thought. When I ran in to investigate, there was Thomas, stuck in the trash can across from our dryer. I guess that as he pulled the dryer open, he lost his balance and accidentally sat down in the trash. Then, the rest of the kids had to try it, too, which brought on not a little more laughter. Here's Thomas, right after it happened:

Hills and a Good Foot

Kris was so resourceful. His truck was leaking gas and he very efficiently bought the part it needed, scooted himself under the truck, and began to fix it...until he accidentally broke off a piece of it and got gasoline in his eye. Bummer. Then it would not work at all and he had to get it to the repair shop. This would have required an ordeal, except that we live on a hill, at the bottom of which and just outside our subdivision is a truck repair shop! It couldn't have been better. Here is Kris, powering his truck by a push from his foot, heading to get his truck fixed (with some excited children running to wave good-bye)!

Our Little Singer

Daniel enjoys singing "Mighty, mighty Savior" from Awesome God, a wonderful CD for kids from Sovereign Grace Music. He also likes, "E-I-E-I-O" from "Old MacDonald had a farm." Here's a quick video of him singing both.

Thomas' reasoning

On our way home from Sam's, Thomas asks me for permission to go to the front yard when we get home to take a look at the dove in her nest. She is just out of reach of the kids, but low enough for them to peek in to see if she is still there.
"Ok, Thomas, " I agreed, as long as Anna was with him.
"May I please take my Duckie, too?" he asked.
"No, let's not take Duckie, because Duckie might scare the little bird. We don't want to scare her," I replied.
"Oh, no, Duckie won't scare the bird, because I won't open Duckie's mouth. "
He always has a good reason why...
Funny boy.

Doodle Bug

Kris took us out to dinner this evening for Mother's Day, which I was thankful for! As we waited for a table, we enjoyed the balmy evening air and the kids gently searched for treasures from the grass and beds around the waiting area. Then, we headed inside and I asked Thomas to hold onto my pocket since I was carrying Daniel.
"Yes, Ma'am," he cheerfully said. And then he added, "I put my doodle bug in there too, so it will be safe while we eat."
"Ok, Thomas...What did you say?"
"I put my doodle bug in there so it will be safe."
"Where?"
"In your pocket."
Yes, it was in there! Thanks, Thomas!

Fridge trouble...again

Our refrigerator hasn't exactly had a good year. When we came home from Florida last summer, after two weeks of being gone, we discovered that our fridge had stopped working...very shortly after we left. It had absolutely blossomed in the worst way you can imagine. After several treatments of bleach water and a new relay, we gained enough confidence to use it again.

Then, while Kris was in Cambodia in October, I noticed our ice was melting. This time it was the compressor. A few hundred dollars later (thankfully, it was a really cheap fix for a compressor!), we were able to use it again.

Then in the last couple of weeks, we noticed that the freezer was not keeping our ice cream solid enough. (You'd think we'd also notice the frozen vegetables being soggy, but no...it was the ice cream!)

This week, Kirby's Appliance Repair came again. This time, the compressor was diagnosed as insufficient and Kirby's came in and replaced it since it was still under warranty from last October. They didn't have us pay a cent. The boys were mesmorized by the repairman, and wanted to be right there watching. I was concerned that Thomas would wear the repairman down with constant chatter like, "I have a Duckie! Daddy took Duckie to work today! He needs to be careful doesn't he, Mommy? What is that tool for?" The repairman was very cheerful, however, and must either have children or just genuinely enjoys them, because he just smiled and answered. Here are Daniel and Thomas watching the action:

Excitement at Kroger

We were at Kroger this morning and David said, "Mom! You've got to go over and look in that bin. It's GORGEOUS!" I chuckled and walked over and peered in: it was full of hundreds and hundreds of crawfish!

Cookie Bakers

Anna wanted to bake some cookies for Mom and Dad's trip to Europe. This morning, they were all three up early. I let them grab a breakfast bar to eat and then they got to work, baking! It was so funny to hear and watch them. Anna was of course in charge, and she had them helping and mainly watching. They (hmm...she) pretty much did it all except the vanilla (we're too fond of our large homemade vanilla bottle to let her pour it yet) and the actually baking in the oven. Yum!

Daniel and his "Nee nee"

Sweet Dan man loves his pacifier, and he first called it his "nee nee" and now we do too. Here he his, happy as can be, because he has found not one, not two, but THREE nee nees!

Tower o' Dishes

I had no idea that one could be so creative with dishwasher unloading. David is supposed to stack the dishes on the counter so I can quickly put them in the high cabinet when I'm ready. This morning when I came in to do my part, he impressed me by his nice tower. Can you see that the cutting board is balanced on the top of the cheese grater? Funny boy!

Basket Fun

How many kids can you get in a basket? I think they were going a trip somewhere...

Trash Day!

As soon as the kids hear the trash truck each week, usually around 8:00, they call back and forth to each other, "Trash truck!" and they run into the living room and take their posts at the window. Here they are watching this morning. If you look closely, you can see the back corner of the truck at the bottom right of the window, right above Daniel's head.

3-2-1 Blastoff!

Watch out NASA! From Sachse to Cape Canaveral, here we come!



Here the kids are, mid-ascent, in their state-of-the-art space shuttle. I think this was before they lost their solid rocket boosters.

Busy, Busy Boy, Boy!

It was about 10:30am, and Anna and I were working so hard on school. I knew that David and Thomas were quite happy, and quite busily playing. I was pretty certain they were safe, and not into trouble; however, I had no idea exactly what they were occupying themselves with...until David called me into their room to look at their "project."



I think this is pretty much every toy that we own. Wow. I was...impressed. Just in case you're wondering, I did make sure they put all the toys away in their correct places again, which took quite a bit longer than the original project, but they did get it done. Busy, busy boys!