Another Celebrated Dancing Bear

A couple weeks ago we rowed "Another Celebrated Dancing Bear", here are some of our highlights from the week

We started out the week at our friend's house, where she organized a Beef Stroganoff lunch for the kids, a carving art project to go along with the book's illustrations, and had the kids make Russian Tea Cakes.

At my house, I dug into my husband's old photo album (he lived in Russia the summer after his senior year of high school) and had the kids do an art project while they learned about architecture in Moscow (found the pattern in the back of my FIAR manual)

Then I tried to do a Faberge Egg project using a cut up silk tie. I thought this was the PERFECT opportunity to go through my husbands extensive tie collection. I found one just bold enough to dye an egg, yet subtle enough that he wouldn't notice it missing. Then I saw this:

Needless to say, I panicked, realized I know nothing about the value of a tie, checked my Macy's account to make sure he left some room for me to shop, too, and dug out an Easter egg dying kit - behold, the homeschooler's Faberge Egg :)

Next the kids had a snack and learned about bears and hibernation. 

I froze some fruit to give them a sense of why bears cannot find food in the winter (smell), and then did a project using loads of Vaseline to represent fat and its protection against harsh weather conditions. 

This was our last FIAR before summer, we are actually only working on phonics now until next school year, so until then, have a great summer, homeschoolers! 

Friendship Bread

If I ever question whether or not to continue homeschooling, I will refer myself back to this photo. The smiles, the friendship, and the joy. That about sums it up. Thank you, Lord, for making this the desire of my heart.

All This from a Cellophane Bag

Today was one of those days. You know, where a lot of bad things and a lot of good things happen and you're not quite sure how to label it as a whole...

Well tonight, I choose to focus on the good. But not before I explain the bad! We threw $50 out the window. I mean that literally. More like off the top of the car. Regardless. I also called Blockbuster to inform them that I had lost their DVD, got charged an additional $30, found it two minutes later (after a week of searching), only to be told it was too late, and that I already owned it...

Honesty...the best policy, aye?

Moving on.

Our schooling day was interrupted when my husband walked through the door with not one, but TWO bouquets. This is not abnormal for him. He cant pass the flowers without getting some for both of his girls. He wants to make sure his sweet little princess knows how to be treated one day.

 I just love how she lit up this time though. She grabbed his hand and took him to my vase cupboard and they sat there for a couple of minutes picking the perfect vases for each bouquet. She carried them over to me to have me cut the stems at the sink, and then picked the best spot in the house to display them. She walks up to them every few minutes now and grabs each jar (as my heart stops) off of the table and smells them, talks about how daddy got them for her (and me, but who cares, right?), and goes on and on. That had me thinking - what an honor to not only be responsible for two little hearts, but also for the hearts of two that we do not yet know - their spouses.

Our pastor spoke two weeks ago about how important it is to show passion between parents. And to clarify, I don't mean that you need to grab your husband and kiss him every time a child walks into the room! What I mean is this: express love toward your husbands and wives, so that it's not a foreign concept to our children, and so that they are taught by us what a loving relationship looks like, not by peers. Actually, our pastor gave three examples of what happens when we "hide" from our kids:

1. We get "Victorian" which leads to point 2
2. It becomes defiled (since nobody embraces it, the world does) Did you know that adult bookstores outpace McDonald's 3 to1? Now that leads to point 3
3. Perversion - the world has taken a purity meant for marriage, distorted it, and created a generation of people with skewed desires - 25% of all girls become victims of abuse.

I may have drifted off point slightly, but it seemed like an appropriate time.

My kids. Right...

We were talking this morning about Titus chapter two, how it gives clear instructions to be examples to young men and women in all that we do. In my opinion, my children are never too young to be considered heirs to the throne. What we say to them and model for them reflects on us as parents, sure. But more importantly, it affects their habits, thoughts, and adult decisions. For the first time in my life, I prayed for their spouses tonight. I prayed that nothing would happen to them to taint their love for Christ. That they are being raised to honor my kids now, even before they know them. That their parents understand the weight of their role in MY kids lives, and that my husband and I consider them in all that we do when raising our children to marry them one day.

Lord, in the blink of an eye, these two bouquets will be one. Reach the hearts now of the man and woman who will pick up where Mommy and Daddy leave off.

#39!

Today was my sister-in-law's SURPRISE baby shower! It is also my parent's 39th wedding anniversary! Unlike many of my friends, family, and even husband, I have no pre-existing fears within my marriage, because they have given us such a strong picture of a Godly marriage. As a quick tribute to their 39 years, here are the top 10 things that I have learned from them that I apply to my life daily, whether by words or observation:

1. The Lord is the foundation of a strong marriage
2. A servant's heart will root a marriage deeper daily
3. Never correct or argue with your spouse in front of anybody. Wait until you are in private so as not to embarrass or silence them.
4. "Go ask your mom/dad" is not the answer. A united front is key.
5. Keep your finances honest...still working on that one...
6. Take time daily to remember why you VALUE your spouse.
7. Pray for them every day - their day, travels, trials, and temptations.
8. Keep it young! After 39 years, I still see my dad tickling my mom as he walks by.
9. Make your relationship with your spouse more important than that with your kids - my parent's transition from "full-house" to "empty-nesters" seemingly went off without a hitch! They enjoy each other as husband and wife, not just mom and dad!
10. Envision a SOLID future, not a SITUATIONAL one.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to two of the cutest little lovebirds around!

The Wedding Speech

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.

Philippians 2:5-7

As a wedding photographer, I've seen it all. Some dads give a sappy, tearful, goodbye to their daughters as their wedding speech. Some give an "I'll shoot you if you hurt her" type of warning. Some just reminisce about their daughter and her childhood dreams and hopes.

Not my dad.

See, I could write a whole book about what a wise and respectable man my father is. "He is the epitomy of integrity" as my sister-in-law once put it. Basically, when he speaks, you listen, because it doesn't come out much, but when it does, it's good!

I could not wait to hear what my dad had planned to say at my wedding. Was he going to embarass me and talk about how he coached my soccer team despite the fact that I never scored a single goal? Would he tell stories of our father/daughter travels to Italy, Spain, France, or Morocco? Was he going to pull out the little love notes he had hanging in his closet from me?

Nope.

He gave one line.

My dad, my running partner, world travel companion, the one who not only taught me to ride a bike, but followed through every weekend with a bike ride to the library and Dairy Queen, spoke ONE LINE at my wedding.

"Kids," he said, "The best lesson you will ever learn in life is to serve one another."

Though the words were few, they changed my life. They are the words I repeat each morning as I get out of bed, and each evening as I crawl in. I think of them as I grit my teeth, wanting to shout at my husband. I think of them as I pick the tomatoes out of his dinner, so he gets the flavor without the texture. I think of them as I pull the shorts out of the laundry that I just KNOW I've already washed. Those words scream in my head, ready to stop me when I carry a dish across the kitchen in an attempt to educate my husband on proper dish washing.

I have realized in the past few months, while my husband and I watch marriages crumble for different reasons around us, that there is one key similarity in all of them. In each divorce we see, there is at least one person not willing to serve the other.

I have recently discovered that there is a huge difference between a servant and a slave. Not a difference in the nature of the work, at times, but a difference of the heart. Some days I catch myself cursing my husband in my head as I scrub the garlic (if you don't know my husband, he over-garlics EVERYTHING) off the counter, getting angry at my kids as I throw soiled clothes in the wash (as if it's something they can control?), and wishing I had more time for my own self.

I have hung a few verses up in my "angry places" (laundry room, where the dishes pile up, etc) that remind me of what a blessing it is to be a steward.

The Lord has changed my heart from one of a slave to one of a joyful servant. Whether the little things that I do for my family get noticed or not, it's about having a heart like His, from which all blessings flow.