I'm a Winner!

Got some fun news this morning. I've won a $100 gift certificate to one of my favorite websites, homesciencetools.com. I ordered a set of microscope slides for the kids, and wrote a review of the product. Every month the website has a drawing of the previous month's reviews and picks one person for the gift certificate.

Now I have to decide how to spend $100. What a dilemma to be in, huh?

In Memory

For any of you who might be led to contribute to Shaohanna's Hope in memory of Maria Sue, the link is in the post below. This cross post is from our adoption agency's program "An Orphan's Ticket Home", http://adoptedbydesign.typepad.com/orphanstickethome/ .

May 22, 2008
In Remembrance of Maria Sue Chapman

Dear America World Families,

Our agency grieves with you as we mourn the loss of Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter, Maria Sue. It was an honor for our agency to have assisted the Chapman family as they brought such a precious life home. I use the word precious because this tragic event has reminded us all of how precious life truly is. We join you in prayer that the Lord of this Universe, who holds the whole world in His hands would be as close as possible to the Chapman family during this time of mourning.

We would like to give the Chapman family something formally in rememberance of Maria on behalf of America World and our families. What better way than to give to the agency the Chapmans created to bring more precious lives home like Maria? So, at this time, we encourage all of you to give to Shaohannah's Hope. They have created a special fund in memory of her called the Maria's Miracle Fund.

Christ as our Comforter,

America World

Thankful Thursday

And we're ready for summer! School is out, Jacob has finished his first year of preschool, and we're done with all the pomp and circumstance. Hurray! Today was such a busy day because we had to get ready for school, get Jacob to his pre-commencement practice, go to the ceremony, eat lunch and then scramble to get Merrilee to gymnastics. And it was accomplished with no short tempers or loss of self control on anyone's part. I am so relieved and very thankful.

Jacob and the other kids did a great job singing their songs and standing in line to receive their diplomas. His teacher even gave each kid a bucket of goodies to take home: candy, bubbles, and sidewalk chalk. It was really nice of her...she's a very thoughful teacher. I hope he gets her next year, because she really is good for him. Lots of patience and praise.

Merrilee enjoyed her first gymnastics class and was so excited to tell me all about it after it was over, even though I stood and watched for the entire hour. She was especially excited that she learned new stuff already. I hope she finds it satisfying enough to stick with it.

Here are a few photos of Jacob's past year in preschool. Just looking through the CD of photos the teacher gave us, it makes my head spin that preschool could be so full of activity. I could never be a preschool teacher!

One Down, One To Go

Merrilee has officially finished up her first year of homeschooling, and I'm breathing a sigh of relief. It worked...it really worked! We did it!

This year was kind of an experiment, and I knew I could homeschool her, but wasn't sure if I would really do a good job. Well, after many wonderful days of accomplishments and learning, and only a few days of breakdowns on both our parts, we have graduated! I'm quite thrilled with the way things worked out. In fact, I have a hard time believing we really did a whole year of school. It went by so quickly.

Merrilee has become a fantastic reader and is even reading for pleasure now. She's also amazingly interested in science to the point that we recently invested in a good binocular dissecting microscope. Both kids enjoy it, but Merrilee is absolutely fascinated with all things biology. She's got me rather excited about her future, since she seems to follow right along the lines of things I love. I have to refrain from planning her future career too far in advance...I so wish I had gone the biology route instead of chemsitry.

She has also put forth lots of effort in math, and completed the Saxon Math 1 course. I'm really proud of her for that, since math is not one of her favorite subjects. She doesn't dislike it, but tends to get tired of it easily. Saxon math is not for the faint of heart, and the daily work involves review, the new lesson, a practice sheet of math facts, and a worksheet. But she's a trooper and toughed it out; she has done an excellent job in grasping all the concepts we covered and does have good mathematical ability.

Overall, I would consider this year of my homeschool experiment a success. We accomplished even more than I set out to do. On the down side, I wish I had been able to put a little more time into her music and art interests. She hasn't done much on the piano since Christmas, and we'll probably work on that more this summer. She enjoys playing, but at her age, I didn't want to strictly enforce the daily practice. She opens up the piano now and again on her own, and plays what she likes, but we really need to settle into a routine to help her progress. On the creative front, I found the art/craft stuff to be a bit overwhelming, simply because I'm not that great at coming up with ideas. I tried to let the kids do something crafty whenever the seasons changed or holidays rolled around, but I just plain old do not enjoy the planning, setting up and cleaning up of art class. I'm going to have to put a bit more effort into it next year.

Jacob graduates from preschool in two more days, so I'll post some photos of his big day later in the week. For now, enjoy a brief review of Merrilee's school year in pictures.

Science experiment with magnets

Practice printing letters

Colonial studies: dipping candles

Using her new OLPC XO Laptop (http://www.laptopgiving.org/)

Doing her daily math worksheet

Viewing a feather with the new microscope

A Lesson You Hate to Have to Teach Your Daughter

I didn't set out to have anything sigificant happen today. It's drizzly and dreary; one of those days you just want to get through. Maybe a few highlights, like reading seven books in a row to the kids and then let them make pigs-in-a-blanket for lunch. You know, boring. But that's not the way my day was supposed to go.

On the way to preschool drop off, I suddenly remembered that I had a book on hold at the library. Jay had told me on Saturday, after I returned from a shopping trip, that the library had called and said the book was in. I totally forgot about this until I was pulling into the school parking lot this morning. I even wondered if the book would still be there, but I figured I'd give it a try. So after dropping Jacob off, Merrilee and I popped over to the library. I like the library on early mornings when it's raining, because hardly anyone is there.

As we walked into the building, I decided I needed to make a pit stop. There was a woman in the bathroom at the sink when I went in, but I couldn't see her face because she was leaning down. I had Merrilee wait for me outside the stall, and the woman was still there when I went to wash my hands. I noticed she was spending a lot of time wetting down her hair (kind of unusual in a library bathroom on a rainy day), and then I saw it. My stomach turned and my face grew hot. The woman's left eye had a black circle around it the the diameter of an orange. Her left eye was bloody, and her head behind her left ear was lacerated. She didn't pay much attention to me as she continued to rinse her hair and wipe her face with a paper towel.

I looked directly at her and she said "I'm okay". I asked if she was really okay, and then I asked what happened. She just said "My boyfriend". I won't go over the next parts of the conversation, but it was a classic case of domestic violence. This poor woman, Eileen, had just gotten the crap beaten out of her, and she was washing up in the library bathroom while her boyfriend waited outside. She knew of all the local shelters I suggested and could even list them off to me. She had heard of Leah House, Three Oaks Shelter, and all the other services our community offers. I prayed with her, and told her over and over again that no matter what, no one had the right to treat her this way. She needed to get help.

I asked her where she was going next and she said she was on her way to find some breakfast. She had no money. I asked if she wanted me to take her somewhere and she said no because her boyfriend was right outside and he would go with her. She was going to "scrounge" some money to eat. I helped her out, and recommended she not tell him I gave her anything, though I'm sure she probably handed it over to him. He even had the nerve to pop his head in the bathroom door to ask her what was taking her so long. Damn. Eileen had just gotten bloodied by this man, and now he's asking her why she's taking too long to wash the blood off her face, out of her hair, and regain her composure.

The hard part here for me was that I felt so helpless and couldn't fix the problem. I had to find a corner in the library to pray some more after we parted because the burden on my heart was so heavy. Is Eileen going to get beaten again this afternoon? Did he knock her upside the head again because she was talking to me? Did he slap her for taking money from me? I can hardly think of what happened to her after I left.

I am very thankful that God put the remembrance of that book into my mind this morning. He is sovereign, and even remembering something as seemingly insignificant as a library book is significant in His plan. I might be the only hope or kindness that Eileen will experience today. God always knows our every need, and apparently He knew Eileen would need someone to pray for her. I hope the little I did was what God wanted me to do. I wish it could have been more.

Now you must be thinking about what Merrilee was going through as all this took place. My daughter has such a courageous heart and she's going to be an amazing servant of the Lord one day. She bowed her head and prayed with us as I did what little I could to minister to Eileen. Afterwards, when Merrilee and I were alone in the library, we talked about how some men don't treat women as God instructs, and that they do these terrible things. And I had to finally give Merrilee the warning that she should never accept this kind of behavior from anyone. I can't relay the whole conversation now, because it's still too fresh. But who would have ever thought today, when my daugher is just five years and one month old, that she would be learning such a lesson about domestic violence. Never in all my life did I expect this. And for her to see it first hand is more than I can absorb right now.

But she didn't squirm and get upset. She bravely hugged Eileen and smiled at her. We will keep Eileen in our prayers. Will all of you please do the same? It's all we can do for her right now.

Bird Seed, Anyone?

I hope this isn't violating copyright laws, but I'm going to share a side dish recipe I love to make on Saturday afternoons when it's hot enough to grill outside. We fondly call it "Bird Seed Salad" because the quinoa looks a lot like bird seed. It is excellent cold or at room temp, and has a Southwestern flair. It's also vegetarian, so for those of us watching cholesterol, it's safe.

Quinoa Black Bean Salad

From Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites, 1996

1/3 cup quinoa

1 cup water

1 t olive oil

4 t fresh lime juice, or more to taste

1/4 t ground cumin

1/4 t ground coriander

1 T finely chopped fresh cilantro

2 T minced scallions

1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (15 ounce can, drained)

2 cups diced tomatoes (I just use one tomato)

1 cup diced bell peppers (I use half a pepper)

2 t minced fresh green chiles (I use one little can, drained)

salt and ground black pepper to taste

I like to add left-over corn on the cob, cut off the cob, or if I'm in a pinch, half a 15 ounce can of corn. Corn just seems to improve the salad.

Rinse the quinoa well in a sieve under cool running water. In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil, add the quinoa, cover, and simmer on low heat, until all the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 10-15 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the oil, lime juice, cumin, coriander, cilantro, and scallions. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, and chiles. Add the cooled quinoa, and salt and pepper to taste, and combine thoroughly. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with lemon or lime wedges.

Another Friday, and All Is Right With My World

Sometimes I just have to lift my face and raise my hands in thanksgiving. Today is one of those days. It's a marvelous 80-degree day, we've put up the swimming pool and started filling it, and the kids are happy that I've spent time with them and enjoyed their presence. This morning as I prayed with the kids, I praised Him that He is wonderful in his grace to us. That the grace he had for us before breakfast, the love he had for us this morning, was exactly the same as it would be later in the day, no matter what we would do or how things would turn out. And he has loved us all day long. Even when we've had moments of disobedience (and Mommy is not excluded from that), moments of impatience, moments of rebellion, He still loves us. Nothing we can do will ever make him turn his face away. What an amazing God we serve!

And today we're rejoicing in the blessings He bestows on everyone...the weather, the sunshine, the warmth. Oh, I'm so enjoying this. Can you tell winter has been such drudgery for me? I'm reveling in springtime!

We found a little skink today and the kids got a friendly with it. I let them hold it for a couple minutes and then it jumped on Jacob's chest and took off on a tour of his body. It was pretty funny to watch. I was really impressed how gentle Jacob was with it. I was sure he'd freak out since he's so ticklish. But he was very careful not to smoosh the little creature. And when he held it, I was relieved to see that he was very tender. Sometimes little boys just surprise us. I don't think Merrilee was half as gentle. She enjoyed the skink, too, but was more concerned about "owning" it, rather than just enjoying its company. She was pretty unhappy with me when I said it was time to let it go off on it's own. Interesting how different my two children are. I wish I would naturally let them be who they are, rather than always trying to mold them into what I want them to be. They're two great kids, and sometimes in reflection, I realize I need to back off and let them be who they are. Lord, I am so thankful you've given them to me. Thank you. Grow them up the way you want them to be, and guide me in the way I should lead them. Amen.