Archive for January, 2009

• Word Choice

  Date: 2009.01.31 | Category: Bible Study, Twins | Response: 0

  Today for lunch I served Baked breaded Fish, Hash browns, Freezer Coleslaw (thawed), carrot sticks, and Fruit & Yogurt Salad.  Rachel helped with the food prep: she sliced the strawberries, distributed the chopped pear, and scooped the yogurt on each serving.  Alexis cleaned and set the table, served the fruit salad, and distributed the napkins.

  When we sat down and blessed the food, I began to serve the fish and the coleslaw.  Alexis chimes, “Hey, Mom. I want a dunk of that.  Dunk! That’s a funny word.”

  “Yes, Dunk is a funny word.  Are you referring to the sound it makes on your plate?” asked Rob.

  “Yeah… it goes like this…” explained Alexis.

  “Well, actually the correct word is dollop.” I corrected. “Dollop, as in a dollop of cool whip or sour cream.  I dolloped the cole slaw onto your plate. Dunk is for fully submersing something.”

  “Like dunking a cookie in milk” added Rob.

  “Not to be confused with Dip.  Dip means that just a little tip of the food has been put into something. Like I just dipped the corner of my hashbrown into my ketchup,” I explained, holding up my hashbrown as Exhibit A.

  I began to smile.  I looked at Rob, who was also smiling.  “Mushy, Squishy, and ishy,” he said laughing.

  “Exactly what I was thinking!” I responded.

  We were pleasantly recalling the days that Deni spent with us, learning the intricacies of English adjectives. . . . 

  “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver”
  Proverbs 25:11

• Something

  Date: 2009.01.29 | Category: Uncategorized | Response: 0

  There I did it. I wrote Something. Maybe later I’ll have something inspirational to write.

• Why I am not sending the twins to preschool

  Date: 2009.01.26 | Category: Preschool, Twins | Response: 0

  I am shocked at myself.  I’m going to “home school.”  I use this term loosely, and it’s Not forever, but is at least for now.  The words “home school” are quite loaded at our house.  We’ve had alot of discussions with home schoolers that have not been pleasant.  So, please don’t classify me as a passionate home schooler.  I’m not.  I’m simply choosing to teach the twins at home for one more year.  Homeschooling is not our philosophy or way of life. It’s not our final choice.  It’s not our first response.  Those of you who went through teacher ed with me know that I was headed as a missionary to the public schools of one of the most God-forsaken countries of the world. Certainly, Rob and I still consider public education a suitable option at this point.  However, our current location does not offer public 4K, so here we are.

  I went to the Preschool Fair held at our library and I talked to dozens of preschools.  I listened to their curriculum highlights, and over and over I found that there is nothing I can  pay them to do.  The only exception is the preschool program at our Y.  They offer swim lesson once/week at the end of the preschool day.  Now swim lessons is definitely outside of my skill set.

  But counting in its various forms, reading small words, writing, adding, cooking, art in its various forms, science, social studies (or multiculturalism, global awareness or whatever SS is called these days), music and health are all things that I can do. In fact, I’m already doing it.  We already do “a letter of the week”.  We already do so many of the things these school representatives claim they cover… So now I am attempting to become more structured in our pursuit of knowledge.

  Alexis is already pleading with me, “But mom, I don’t know “.    Clearly I have to do something!

• Home Ownership, a reflection

  Date: 2009.01.15 | Category: Bible Study, personal | Response: 1

  I’m not sure when I wrote this post originally but it must have been early in 2008.  Portions of the original have been edited or deleted, the rest I have decided to publish today because I find it thought-provoking.

  “This move to Arlington Heights has been stressful.  all the way around, i am stressed.  before the move, i was stressed about the idea of moving. then everything happened so quickly that the frantic pace was stressing me.  i stressed out about what everyone would think of our moving. ….

  “and trying to find a house is impossible…..  i am tempted to ask God for a sign — an audible instruction for “where to buy our house” .  rob will have to commute to AH daily, no matter where the new church site will be so it’s almost a moot point. but if the church is going to reach out the community around its new location, then it would be nice to have some staff ppl living there.

  “i am really struggling. part of me says, screw the house hunt, rent forever. part of me says, fine just buy an old fixer upper and I’ll work on it.  i can’t sleep at night anyway, so I may as well remove carpet, wallpaper, and 50 yr old appliances. i may as well  take a sledge hammer to the walls to open up the spaces, repaint the remaining walls, and dig up the yard to re- landscape it.  install new bigger windows, replace plumbing, and well shoot just tear down the whole house and start over. the trouble with this plan is that I have “almost 3″ yr olds. not almost 13 yr olds who could actually HELP or stay out of the way by attending school 7 hrs/day.

  “all of this brings me to my search for a “theology of home ownership”.  I haven’t yet built one (LOL no pun intended). but i do know this.  Abraham lived in a tent.  Paul lived in a prison. Jesus didn’t have a place to lay his head. Foxes live in holes. David was a cave man. Samuel stayed in the temple from the time he was 3.  Ruth lived with inlaws and even spent the night in the barn. Esther lived in a palace. Mary went to the hill country. Peter, Andrew, James and John were possibly boat people, and Peter also probably stayed with his inlaws.  does the fact that these ppl lived in another time and another place and another culture have any bearing on my theology of home ownership?  Am I over spritualizing? Am I taking this housing thing way to seriously?  How can I be, if a woman’s place is IN the home?”

  I don’t know if I ever built my theology of home ownership.  But I do know that God placed us in the neighborhood where we now live, in Crystal Lake, a full 40 minute commute from Arlington Heights. Acts 17:26-27 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.  If we ever move again, I hope that I can rest in the sovereignty of God’s plan for us.  Because it’s not really up to me where we live.

• NYR update

  Date: 2009.01.15 | Category: Bible Study, Gerneral, House, Preschool, hobbies, personal | Response: 0

  I am working diligently on my NYRs.

  I have mopped the kitchen 3 times this year and mopped the upstairs bathroom twice (#8).  I have been vacuuming 2-3 times per week (#7), and have concluded it may be time to replace all the flooring in this house! I have also done some more research on how to market my new online business, lexiraedesigns.etsy.com (#6)  Saturday I will attend a preschool open house at the public library, and  gather more information on #4.

  I’ve also started reading through the book of Proverbs again, one chapter per day, or 2 if I’ve missed a day.  In today’s chapter, 15, I noticed the repetition on heeding correction.  I also noted a repeated theme on wealth/poverty in my reading thus far.  So if you’re wondering what God thinks about global economics, read through Proverbs.   Here’s a sampling of what you will find, from the NIV biblegateway.com:

  1. Proverbs 3:16
     Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.
     Proverbs 3:15-17 (in Context) Proverbs 3 (Whole Chapter)
  2. Proverbs 8:18
     With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity.
     Proverbs 8:17-19 (in Context) Proverbs 8 (Whole Chapter)
  3. Proverbs 10:15
     The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.
     Proverbs 10:14-16 (in Context) Proverbs 10 (Whole Chapter)
  4. Proverbs 11:28
     Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.
     Proverbs 11:27-29 (in Context) Proverbs 11 (Whole Chapter)
  5. Proverbs 13:7
     One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.
     Proverbs 13:6-8 (in Context) Proverbs 13 (Whole Chapter)
  6. Proverbs 13:8
     A man’s riches may ransom his life, but a poor man hears no threat.
     Proverbs 13:7-9 (in Context) Proverbs 13 (Whole Chapter)
  7. Proverbs 14:20
     The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends.
     Proverbs 14:19-21 (in Context) Proverbs 14 (Whole Chapter)
  8. Proverbs 18:11
     The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall.
     Proverbs 18:10-12 (in Context) Proverbs 18 (Whole Chapter)
  9. Proverbs 18:23
     A poor man pleads for mercy, but a rich man answers harshly.
     Proverbs 18:22-24 (in Context) Proverbs 18 (Whole Chapter)
  10. Proverbs 21:17
      He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich.
      Proverbs 21:16-18 (in Context) Proverbs 21 (Whole Chapter)
  11. Proverbs 22:1
      A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.
      Proverbs 22:1-3 (in Context) Proverbs 22 (Whole Chapter)
  12. Proverbs 22:2
      Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.
      Proverbs 22:1-3 (in Context) Proverbs 22 (Whole Chapter)
  13. Proverbs 22:7
      The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
      Proverbs 22:6-8 (in Context) Proverbs 22 (Whole Chapter)
  14. Proverbs 22:16
      He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and he who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.
      Proverbs 22:15-17 (in Context) Proverbs 22 (Whole Chapter)
  15. Proverbs 23:4
      Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.
      Proverbs 23:3-5 (in Context) Proverbs 23 (Whole Chapter)
  16. Proverbs 23:5
      Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
      Proverbs 23:4-6 (in Context) Proverbs 23 (Whole Chapter)
  17. Proverbs 24:25
      But it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come upon them.
      Proverbs 24:24-26 (in Context) Proverbs 24 (Whole Chapter)
  18. Proverbs 27:24
      for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.
      Proverbs 27:23-25 (in Context) Proverbs 27 (Whole Chapter)
  19. Proverbs 28:6
      Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a rich man whose ways are perverse.
      Proverbs 28:5-7 (in Context) Proverbs 28 (Whole Chapter)
  20. Proverbs 28:11
      A rich man may be wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has discernment sees through him.
      Proverbs 28:10-12 (in Context) Proverbs 28 (Whole Chapter)
  21. Proverbs 28:20
      A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.
      Proverbs 28:19-21 (in Context) Proverbs 28 (Whole Chapter)
  22. Proverbs 28:22
      A stingy man is eager to get rich and is unaware that poverty awaits him.
      Proverbs 28:21-23 (in Context) Proverbs 28 (Whole Chapter)
  23. Proverbs 30:8
      Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
      Proverbs 30:7-9 (in Context) Proverbs 30 (Whole Chapter)

• OOPS, making comments.

  Date: 2009.01.13 | Category: Gerneral | Response: 2

  I think I just marked someone’s comment as spam when I should not have done so.  If that were your comment, please accept my apologies.  I was quickly spamming all of the trackbacks from drug companies, and I must have got clicker happy on the mouse.

  That being said, I do appreciate knowing who reads my blog and what you think about it.  So make your comments and I will try not to spam you.  Registering as a user/reader on this blog will not increase your spam email either.   If you are finding me after “quite a while” please send me a separate email  explaining who you are along with a link to your blog.

• Resolve

  Date: 2009.01.06 | Category: House, Preschool, personal | Response: 1

  Jonathan Edwards made several NYR’s ….

  *sigh*  I want to resolve. I want to set goals.  I’m just not sure how feasible my goals are.  Here’s a sample.

  1. Lose 10-15 lbs.

  2. exercise, and teach my children to do so.

  3. have a predictable daily routine.

  4. enroll children in 4K or 5K.  If this is illegal or unaffordable, then have a set “thing” for 4K homeschool. Including teaching them to read.

  5. get a part time job, after the twins are enrolled.

  6. make money from lexiraedesigns.etsy.com

  7. Vacuum 3x per week

  8. mop 1x per week, including bathrooms.

  9. Hang valances in the MBR

  10. Paint the MBA

  11. Paint the trim

  12. Paint the front porch trim.

  13.  Replace kitchen floor.

  14. Get involved in a Bible Study.

  15. a garden would be nice.

• Songs by Alexis

  Date: 2009.01.01 | Category: Twins | Response: 0

  Swing low, Sweet Cherries- Oh!

  She has a lullaby CD that has this instrumental song and sometimes I sing the words to her before bed at night.  When she mis-sang the lyrics this morning, I immediately showed her a Chariot on google images.  Before seeing the image, She wanted to know how she could eat a Chariot.  The song is forever ruined for her.  She was going to sleep dreaming of sweet cherries coming to take her home.  Now what will she have dreams of? Battles!