Birthday Week

 Three of our youngest four children have their birthdays over the course of one week in August.

 These ladies celebrate 4 days apart.

Tori gave this wonderful birthday sash and tiara to Miss J. for her day and her sister was able to use it for her Sweet Sixteen!

Scented lotions and soaps are always a big hit and made a great gift from Tori to Natalie. Gifts are downplayed in this house.They are not expected and there is NO obligation to provide one. Less is definitely more in my book. However, some people really like to show their love by giving a well chosen gift and that gesture is always appreciated.

 

Larry and I give a modest gift of money and  John picked out a Star Wars Lego set with his. He is thoroughly enjoying it.

 Each birthday child (and even a birthday adult)  enjoys being remembered in a special way, whether that be by a call, a card, a visit, a message, a gift, a thought or a prayer. Happy Birthday, kids! Wishing you all a happy, healthy year.

Earthquake Survivors

 We, along with folks from Canada to North Carolina, had the exciting sensation of feeling a 5.8 magnitude earthquake and living to tell! Like most folks, by God's Grace, we had no damage or injury. Best of all, we experienced this with Tim and Kristy which made it even more of an adventure.We were all sitting in the living room when we  felt the couches and the room rolling in WAVES.We all looked at each other with shock and exclaimed "Earthquake!!!! Get out of the house!!!!!! I ran to get the napping little guy and out we ran.

Apparently, that must be the instinctive natural reaction because that's what everyone did, including Jeff and Chelsea in D.C. where people were spilling out of the buildings into the streets. Apparently, Jeff was texting and posting to Facebook as he ran down the stairs "Earthquake! Repent!"  A little later when the All Clear was realized, he updated his status " False Alarm,, Nevermind..."

 We got out into the yard and then realized that our campfire, extinguished by hose three nights earlier, had spontaneously started smoking and then caught up into flames. There must have been a lot of heat trapped underneath it and the earthquake shook things up enough to rekindle the fire.

 Tori, like everyone else on the East Coast, attempted to contact  friends and loved ones. The phone service was JAMMED for twenty minutes as folks checked to see if their neighbors felt it. When we turned on the TV and saw that it had been felt in Canada, we were amazed

 The G-man demonstrated again and again by shaking this fountain drink back and forth what had happened.

He actually told me as I grabbed him out of his bed immediately after it happened that it had woken him up because his bed was shaking and he moved his body to show me. This was the first earthquake my own family has ever experienced. Although we didn't actually feel it, one of our deerhead mounts fell off the wall striking a lamp at the same time that an aftershock was recorded. It was a very memorable experience. 

Politics and Economics at the Lemonade Stand

 Juby decided to sell pink lemonade and she used Sam's wheelbarrow, a gift to him from Grandma Dolly, as a Stand.

She had all she needed, a cool "lemon" pitcher, a tray of ice and a princess bag to put the money in.The cups fit nicely into the handle of the yard cart.

The boys helped out for safety reasons and also because this was where the lemonade was!
They got a few customers from the neighborhood.

 Minus a pair of roller skates, Juby car-hopped here to serve these thirsty girls  their order  "To Go".

 I imagine this cold drink hit the spot after horseback riding in the heat of the afternoon.

Right about here the trouble started... I don't know what it was about- maybe " rent" for the use of the wheelbarrow or something equally important.

She packed it all up. I love how the chair fits into the cart!

Back at the house, the disagreement continued about the disbursement of the funds. Finally, I snatched all the money, about a dollar and seventy five cents, threatening to put it into the Poor Box if they couldn't work it out. Loud crying and gnashing of teeth ensued. That's when Tori made the observation about Lemonade Stand Economics which is the name of an accounting course for high school students.

This led to a long and drawn out meditation upon life, and the reality behind the pictures and blogging in general. I thought long and hard about Humility and Pride and the idea of living a quiet life behind the scenes versus the public life of an on-line presence.
A friend of mine said that the best thing about a blog is that it is a way to "use the pictures" that are fun to take of family life. I totally agree. For so many years I didn't take pictures, claiming that I was too busy living life to record it. I have just a little more time than that now, although not lately!
My mission is to celebrate family life because EACH family is God's masterpiece ( Bl. John Paul II ), and to show how trying to live our great Catholic faith makes life richer and more meaningful for me.

Playing Games

Playing games can be a great way to spend time together. They are a way for folks to have fun and build relationships.

 They can teach many social skills like being pleasant, being fair and negotiating conflict.

 Most kids love games.

I realize that there is a whole lot of talking and interaction that can take place with computer and video games, but I  prefer  the 3-D aspect of board games.
 

 They can be a safe and interesting ice breaker!

Sometimes they can be time-consuming to set up. In that case, it's best to leave them out for a few days so that others can come along and play them, also.

 Parcheesi is my favorite game. I spent many hours playing it with my childhood friends, Laurie and Kim.

I own an older version of this game with the wonderful wooden pieces. I ask the kids to be careful with them because they mean a lot to me.

 Both John and Juby particularly like to play games with me. It's not always easy for a busy mom to sit down and play a game with her children. However, I value the lessons that playing board games can teach in such a fun way. It  would be very wise to build a time for a daily game into my homeschool day with my two youngest! And wiser still to take the time to play with the older kids, too!

Let's Go Swinging!

We attended "The Yard Crawl" which was a day of continuous yard sales on both sides of the road for 40 miles down one route. I gave each kid 5 dollars from their allowance and we walked about a mile down and  then back to the van, stopping at each sale to browse.

 Sam purchased this wooden swing with ropes and clamps attached for a dollar.

 Using a fishing pole, the older guys had already installed a rope over a very high and sturdy limb. They "cast" the fishing line up, and when it went over the limb and down again, they tied a heavy rope to it, suitable for supporting a swing, and then  threaded it over the limb. We had  had a "baby swing" attached to it originally, before this treasure was found at the yard sale.

Now, everyone gets to take a turn going back and forth, and around and around.

 A side rope, attached to the swing, allows the person on the ground to pull it way high.

 Even the big guys can have fun in this old-fashioned way.

 The wooden plank is big enough for two to ride together.

I an grateful for another activity for the kids to play out-of-doors!

Veja Du

 Sometimes a mother can get mighty discouraged when her children suffer from " Veja Du", that is, the feeling that NONE of this has ever happened before!

 It seems like every day, I have to say : 1)unload the dishwasher, 2) take out the trash, 3) get off the computer, 4) load the dishwasher, 5) pick up your socks..... all with a great big smile and a warm and friendly "Please, dear children...", of course! Sure...!

 I haven't been able to come up with a system that automates these daily chores. It's like somehow each day is unlike the 365 days that preceded it and all of these duties are completely new ideas.

You can imagine my delight when out of the blue, Sam decided to organize the mudroom cabinets. On his own, he emptied them all out, and throughout the day, put things back in groups of like items.

He now has in his head, an inventory of the things we already own and where they can be found when needed.

In that very same hour, John took it upon himself to make a bowl of tunafish. This picture doesn't capture how delicious and timely this lunch was!

Meanwhile, I tried to stop Tori, only 24 hours post-op from surgery on her finger and opposite elbow, from doing housework because she was sick of sitting around healing. Tori is ALWAYS a self-starter and like her late Grandma V., can clean 10 times better than me.

 I would like to be at a point where my dear sweet children know what to do and then do those things on a daily basis without having to be asked to do them!

I don't know if a chart, or a point system, or rewards and punishments are the answer. It seems like we've tried them all, but obviously not consistently!  I guess I will continue to repeat myself like a fool, hoping that these habits will become automatic.
I just realized that they never will as long as I'm willing to live my life in a state of  Deja Vu, that is, a feeling that I've been saying and doing the exact same stuff I've done daily to remind them for years!