YES!!

Reposting another awesome link from Laurel Wreath. Again. :)

The battle ensues.

This cracked me up.

Heed the warning, Ponies.

"In Other Words" Tuesday

I enjoy participating in these community efforts in the blogosphere such as "7 Quick Takes Friday." Being somewhat new at this, I'm never quite sure what will "stick" in a way that will hold my interest enough to keep me remembering to do this on a regular basis. But here's a try. The assignment is simply to write about this quote by Rick Warren below.

“The way you think
determines the way you feel,
and the way you feel
determines the way you act.”
Rick Warren

One of my biggest struggles in life has been to act differently from my feelings. This doesn't always come naturally. In this world, we are often encouraged to "act" in response to our "feeling." Not every feeling is a godly feeling. While the Holy Spirit can and has rather magnificently removed entire layers of "feelings" from me that desperately needed to go, they are a fact of human life and something we all have to deal with.

If it were up to my feelings, I would lounge in bed and hope that my children don't spill the milk too terribly while preparing their own breakfast. Granted, they can prepare their own breakfast, but when that happens, it's usually a last resort.

If it were up to my feelings, I would throw things across the room when I get mad and bang my head against the wall. Literally.

If it were up to my feelings, I would complain a lot and my face would have a worried look about it far more often than it does.

If it were up to my feelings, I sure as heck wouldn't be graduating this year with my long-awaited Bachelor's. As I have mentioned in a recent blog, my feelings toward college at the moment tend toward hatred.

If it were up to my feelings, my mouth would be in much greater control of my life and not in a life-affirming way at all. In fact, I would win all kinds of prizes for my gift of sarcasm, and everyone close to me would experience getting cut down by it on a regular basis.

So I have no illusions that my feelings should lead to action. I must choose how I react to my feelings. Also, it matters how I model this process for my little ones. Sometimes children are glorified in this culture as little "feeling machines," who have feelings and then uncontrollably act on them~~and that they should do so, and that that makes them endearing. I pray I can teach my children how to "Stop, breathe, and think," so that they can choose how to react, rather than let their feelings control them. Will this happen if I do not embody this thoughtfulness as well? Acting like an adult is so challenging. :)

This evening, Psalm, my sweet, precious Psalm who can do no wrong (smile...if you knew him, you'd know that he's kind of ridiculously, out-of-this-worldly cute) took his Transformer toy and threw it against the wall in a rage. Why did he do this? Because Zoya started praying before he did.

Sigh.

"Psalm, give me your Transformers."

(angry look squinting at me from underneath a ducked head as he gathers them and brings them to me)

"Thank you. Psalm, I have been there. I have thrown things against the wall when I'm angry. After it breaks, I feel foolish and sad because I've lost something that's useful to me. I don't want you to break your toys so I'm going to hold onto them while you fall asleep, and when you wake up, you can handle your anger differently."

Exhale. "Okay mommy."

A couple of verses we say a lot in our house:

"In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry." (Ephesians 4:26)

which is based on Psalm 4:4:

"In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent."

I often think of Jonah who refused to go to Nineveh when instructed by the Lord. After he spent three days in the belly of a huge fish and was vomited onto dry land, he headed to Nineveh and gave them the message that God would destroy them if they did not repent of their evil ways.

6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh:

"By the decree of the king and his nobles:

Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish."

10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. 1 But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. 2 He prayed to the LORD, "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live."

4 But the LORD replied, "Have you any right to be angry?"

5 Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live."

9 But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?"
"I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die."

10 But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"

I love this book. Lord, remind me of Jonah when I am being like him, failing to appreciate the tremendous work You have done in our lives and the unending love and mercy You show us. And thank you for giving us real examples of real people with real issues in Your book.

Nature study ~ signs of spring

We packed up our bear spray and boots yesterday for a rainy visit to Peter's Creek. Our backyard is pretty uninspiring...the grass is still brown and no flowers have poked through yet. But look what we found yesterday!

We watched the rain drops form concentric circles in this puddle for awhile.

Peter's Creek, AK

The receding ice shelf

I found this strange creature on the river bank.

Evidence of spring! A green shoot on this tree...

It's remarkable to find green leaves and shoots emerging from the layer of mulch.

Exploring under an ice shelf

Moss and fungus

This activity captivated Zoya...she found leaves which had preserved a shape in the snow.

More shoots, fungus, and even berries

Many trees were shedding bark. I brought a piece home to paint or draw on...
haven't decided what yet.

Admire this amazing painting from the Fowler Museum at UCLA

And then be sure to check out the rest of their interesting artwork by clicking on it.

Isn't this fascinating? I love the depiction of the blood as the living water in the well. Very interesting.

My berry cute baby

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. Our fish are doing well, with the exception of Nemo who is not living up to the sweet, friendly persona that comes to mind when that name is mentioned. Oh no. Far from it. Turns out, he's more like a fish demon. Takes after Darth Fishee, that one does.

2. I am starting to wonder just what I was thinking by signing up for a "British Novels" class. It's not like I had all this time to read before I obligated myself to not only read 500 pages 11 times but to write 10-15 pages about each book. Besides, I have blogs to write, a template to reformat, a huge stack of unread library books to gather...

3. We finally heard from Camil, one of our sponsor kids! He lives in Nicaragua. I think our initial correspondence got lost in the mail because he wrote to Wolfgang, "Are you married? Do you have any children?" Pretty funny for Wolfgang. :)

4. I have a secret surprise visit planned to see Noah next weekend! Shh...don't tell him.

5. Am reading Mary Barton right now for my class. It's not nearly as romantic or engaging as Jane Eyre, nor is there the riveting backdrop of Christian theology. However, I'm quite sure this is my favorite era in literature.

6. If you are a blogger, you will definitely want to check out Michelle Mitchell's new ebook on the subject. I have read it and found it very useful. It can be found here.

7. Isn't this new widget fun? Go ahead and click on one of the three offerings below. You'll be glad you did. :)

Blogging for Compassion

You may have noticed the Compassion International button over on the right side of my blog. My family and I are big fans of this organization. Soon, a group of bloggers will be heading to India to document Compassion's work over there and help raise awareness. Here are some ways you can participate:

1. Pray: There have been minor setbacks as this group prepares to depart. Please pray for the health of these people and that they will have a smooth departure and safe travel.

2. Follow: They've made it as easy as they can for the world to read every post, see every picture and watch every video from this trip daily.

- http://www.compassionbloggers.com/india A snippet of every post, every pic and video will be uploaded to this page.

- http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=53591862382&ref=ts A Facebook group has been created not only to generate prayer and encouragement for the bloggers but also to share links to posts, pics and videos.

- Twitter.com. A few of them will be attempting to use Twitter while in India. Here are the addresses: http://www.twitter.com/theshaungroves http://www.twitter.com/spencesmith http://www.twitter.com/flowerdust

- http://feeds2.feedburner.com/compassionbloggers This is the link to the trip's RSS feed. Subscribing to the feed will send a snippet of every post from every blogger to your RSS reader.

- If you'd prefer to follow the trip by visiting each blog here are their addresses:

Bloggers:
Pete Wilson - http://www.withoutwax.tv
Melissa Fitzpatrick - http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com
Angela Smith - http://www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com
Robin Dance - http://www.pensieve.typepad.com

Photography:
Keely Scott - http://www.keelymariescott.com

Videography:
Anne Jackson - http://www.flowerdust.net

Leaders:
Spence Smith - http://www.spencesmith.com
Patricia Jones - http://jonesbones5.com
Shaun Groves - http://www.shaungroves.com/shlog

They will also be using the hashtag #CompassionIndia to mark every tweet. Searching for that on Twitter should bring up all of our tweets for easy perusal.

Please do at least one of these. Also, consider sponsoring a child from India or from a different country.

Tenacious Alaskan animals

NOTE: I am going through my Myspace blog and transferring some of the more memorable ones to Chilly North Academy. Enjoy!

Reposted from April 24, 2006

Have you ever been stalked?

I was walking at the Campbell airstrip with my family, pushing the twins in a jogger stroller along a trail as Wolfie ran free alongside. The military created the Campbell airstrip to provide an alternate runway for Air Force planes in the event of an attack on Alaska. Mostly, the park consists of winding trails in a very wild environment with the occasional runway thrown in here or there, all unused. The view is spectacular, as snow-covered mountains jut into the sky nearby. There is a creek where bears come to eat fish, and lots of moose and other wildlife.

As we walked along, the time came to empty Wolfie's boot of the snow it had collected. While standing still, I realized a bird was walking up the path behind us. It was at least a hundred yards away at this point and looked like a giant pigeon, especially since it didn't fly but actually used the trail to come up behind us. In Los Angeles, pigeons don't fly. I've seen them use the crosswalk. Somehow, they manage to get by in a very crowded world with only the occasional mishap.

I couldn't help but be intrigued by this visitor. What was it doing? Why wasn't it flying? And more importantly, why is it bothering with us? It disappeared as the path dipped, but sure enough, within a few moments, its head bobbed up again into view. I guess it thought it was being surreptitious by leaving the trail at this point and walking behind the brush and trees that line the trail. Soon, the bird was within just 10, then 5, feet of us. It was the size of a small chicken with black and white feathers and red patches above its eyes.

In thinking back, our true city dorkhood shone through in this moment. What were we thinking? That this bird was coming to us for food? The only sound we had heard this whole time was an angry screech awhile back when we walked past this one tree---obviously containing a nest with eggs this time of year.

The bird walked right up to Wolfgang, age 4 at the time, and attacked him! It jumped onto his chest and started pecking at his clothing, thankfully thick enough to prevent any harm. Wolfie, of course, felt enchanted rather than afraid. I felt so exposed all of the sudden. This was just a bird, not a bear. But if it really wanted to, it could have scratched us up real good. We hurried on along the trail and ultimately turned around.

Apparently, this bird was a spruce grouse. The sign at the front of the park didn't mention aggressive territorial behavior, but one has to assume that most animals this time of year, since they're nesting, are going to exhibit similar behavior. And wouldn't you know, we noticed this bird once again trailing alongside us.

In defense of my quickly-fading city ways, my friend Bruce mentioned that these birds are also known as fool-hens because they're so easy to shoot. I just wanted to get home without losing any eyeballs.

If you would like to reread some posts about animals on our blog, try these:

The tiniest snail ever

The most terrible dog ever

Favorite words from "Jane Eyre"

I am rereading Bronte's Jane Eyre for my British Novels class. It is one of my favorite books, and p. 356 is one of my favorite pages.

The two novels I have read thus far (of my long, many-paged, 11-book list) have similar themes of a staunchly religious woman holding to her faith in the face of extreme temptation. I wonder how often this theme will recur? (The other book I read was Sir Walter Scott's The Heart of Midlothian, in which a sister refuses to lie to protect her sister yet walks all the way to England to gain an audience with the queen and secure a pardon. Jane Eyre goes into far more personal narrative about the heroine's inner process and struggles, whereas Midlothian centers on the historical narrative.)

...While he spoke my very Conscience and Reason turned traitors against me, and charged me with crime in resisting him. They spoke almost as loud as Feeling: and that clamoured wildly. 'Oh, comply!' it said. 'Think of his misery; think of his danger ~ look at his state when left alone; remember his headlong nature; consider the recklessness following on despair ~ soothe him; save him; love him; tell him you love him and will be his. Who in the world cares for you? or who will be injured by what you do?

Still indomitable was the reply ~ 'I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad ~ as I am now. Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth ~ so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane ~ quite insane with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs. Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations, are all I have at this hour to stand by: there I plant my foot.

7 Quick Takes Friday

~~1~~

This gives me a great opportunity to hock my new favorite blog, Conversion Diary. This woman says so much of what is on my heart as well. Her gift for discerning and documenting the way God has worked in her heart and life is exciting to read and I appreciate it.

~~2~~

It's almost 50 degrees out! It feels like summer. We've been spending long hours at the park now in the afternoon basking in the sunlight.

Mom, can't I bike too?!

~~3~~

I'm still. In. School.

I'm laughing at how I blogged repeatedly about the intensity of my science schedule last semester, and I haven't said a darn thing about this semester in a long time. But now it's time to unload.

I'm taking four classes: "The Form of the Essay," "British Novels," "US in World Affairs," and "Intro to Political Science." The first three are through the University of Iowa and the last one is UAA.

Honestly? I just can't stay motivated with these puppies. I'm really busy. My house has lots of little kids in it and a husband, all of whom need attention.

I can't wait to be finished!

~~4~~

However, on an exciting note (I think), I got my acceptance letter into the nursing program for September 2010 with the possibility of serving as an alternate starting the summer of 2010. So we at least have an idea now of our upcoming schedule as far as that goes, as well as a definitive break where I actually abandon all academic pursuits (other than my children's) for at least one year. Exhale.

~~5~~

Homeschooling has been going well. We are comfortably seated in the Ambleside Online curriculum and finding it very engaging and educational. The reading is challenging Wolfgang and he is more than meeting the challenge. We have started using Saxon math, which surprises me (it's an older, more traditional math program...I figured we'd do something newfangled and colorful) but it's just what I was hoping to find to meet everyone's needs.

~~6~~

Four new fish have joined the family. Their names are:
Wrecker, Spy Catcher, Nemo, and Bon Appetit.

~~7~~

Future blog topics stewing in my head:

• Disciplining children
• Maundy Thursday
• Homeschooling stuff
• Women of the Bible Series #2

Easier comment form

My hubby wanted to leave a comment on my blog a little while ago and couldn't. I have since realized that my comment form was only permitting registered users to leave a comment. It has been changed to permit comments from all readers. After you click on "# Comments" below, all you need to do is choose "Name/URL" and type in your name and, if you have one, your blog address. It is quick and easy and I certainly hope you all will comment when you feel a response come over you. :) Thank you!

Blogging friendships

I want to say thank you to MamaArcher for awarding me with the Sweetest Friend award. :) I don't know MamaArcher in person but we live in the same neighborhood and I enjoy reading her many views on the subject of faith, motherhood, and discipleship. I look forward to meeting her and her family face to face.

The award is as follows: “These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find & be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.”

The rules of the award are as follows: Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to 8 bloggers that then need to choose 8 bloggers of their own to pass the award to. Include the following text depicting the award…“Each of the following ladies, I simply love. They each have faced their own challenges in their lives & the way they encapsulate their experiences endears them greatly to my heart.” The award originated with Evening Shade Morning Latte.

I don't read a huge amount of blogs on a regular basis, but there are a few whose writers are particularly special to me, and who also blog regularly so that I can steal a quick moment here and there to enjoy their posts. I am handing out my 8 awards to the following:

Laurel Wreath: I love dear Daisy's blog. And I always appreciate her kind comments on mine. Daisy has also been very helpful as a fellow homeschooling mother with more experience who has taken the time to share her perspective whenever I ask her questions. Thank you, Daisy.

Ponderings of an Eccentric: Unfortunately, Sarah has opted to further her education and get much busier, greatly detracting from her blogging time. But once this phase is over, she will be able to get back in front of that blog where she belongs. (smile~~ouch! I think that was a smack)

The Life of Lori Lynn: Lori is a dear friend of mine with whom I attended school from 2nd through 8th grade in California. She has always been a shining light in this world and her blog is equally encouraging! I love seeing pictures of her and her beautiful family. Her photography is top-notch.

Family Affair: Kathleen and I have never met in person but we grew up in the same neighborhood. She is, without a doubt, one of the strongest people I know through the incredibly inspiring way that she lives out her faith in the midst of above-and-beyond challenging circumstances.

DustinPetersen.com: Dustin leads worship for our church and the youth group, which means he plays music, sings, and does all the brave stuff like praying out loud in public that helps keep the rest of us focused. He is a dear young man with loads of talent. You should give him a record deal.

Kids vs. Mom: Debbie and I go way back. She is a driven, motivated, painfully honest and humble mother who pours out her love and dedication on three precious children. She is also a teacher and a great one at that! I love her blog for its witty candor (hmm. I love Debbie for that reason as well, among others. :)

Returning Warrior Signs: Tora's hubby is stationed in Iraq right now...she has created an ongoing and moving tribute to the men and women who serve our country. I deeply admire Tora. I also miss her! She is busy getting a tan right now in her tropical home just south of here in Hawaii.

Kari's Real Village Blog: Now that we live far apart, I wish we could have had more time building a friendship in person. I have always admired Kari's kindness, enthusiasm and dedication. Currently, she has twin babies in the NICU and I am praying that the updates will continue to be positive.

I am beyond blessed and humbled to know you all! Thank you for being my friend.

Today

Today has been ridiculously wonderful. It certainly wasn't free of squabbles and the usual drama but it has also been so lovely and full. When I took the kids to the park to ride their bikes, Bethany wore her very first pair of big girl tennis shoes and walked all over the place. She did a giant lap around the park and then chased her siblings on their bikes. By the end of it all, she was muddy, dirty, and very happy.

It felt so freeing to be outside! The days are becoming quite long and, even though the air is crisp and chilly, we are getting out in it as often as possible. The winter lasts seemingly forever here; even when spring shows signs of arrival as it is now, it almost seems too good to be true to imagine the summer will come and the days will be long and warm(ish).

Upon returning home, three of the children played at their friends' house while Noah played here in the house with the kid who lives next door. Then, we all had dinner which was a vegetarian version of the scrumptious Creamed Tuna and Peas I looove (this time made with kidney beans instead of tuna) on a bed of rice. All were happy.

We then proceeded to decorate eggs for Easter, starting with our Resurrection Eggs. Noah read about each one of them aloud to us, which he took very seriously. In case you've never seen these, they are a dozen plastic eggs, within which are symbols from the story of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. For instance, there is a donkey, some silver coins, a whip, a Passover cup.

Bethany got right in there by climbing onto the table to get a closer look. We don't usually let her do this but the sight of all those colorful eggs was irresistible, even for me. I love our Resurrection Eggs. The children take very good care of them because they know they only come out every once in awhile. Noah said the eggs were "pretty cool," which, coming from him, means that he had a great time. :)

Then we dyed Easter eggs! We boiled water to put the sleeves on them and added stickers. Zoya wanted to make a special bowl with her very best eggs so the Easter Bunny would be able to give them to people who don't have eggs. You see why I'm still bursting with love from this evening? Aaaahhhh...

Before bedtime, we watched a Berenstain Bears recording. Once again, my big strapping ten year old informed the others that he enjoyed watching these because they have "important life lessons." Then, he and his seven year old brother got into the top bunk for bedtime. I listened to the sounds of Wolfgang professing his undying love to his big brother. "You could never guess how much I love you, Noah. Even if you counted all the way to a billion trillion, by tens."

And Psalm informed me, "I can still hug you, Mom, even if you're 90."

"90?" I asked. "I thought I was 30."

"Oh yeah. 30."

Exhale. Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

What a crazy day. I'm so glad to be sitting here in this quiet house not hearing anything except the clacking of my keyboard.

Noah's here!! We picked him up yesterday from the airport and everything has been~~well, chaotic!! He's huge, first of all, and he reeeeeeally likes to rough house, so it's been a major focus of our day trying to work through these issues. :)

Will try to blog something of more substance soon. I'm tired. It's late. Early. Whatever.

I don't believe in outlawing children.

Every so often, I go through a rash of postings on Facebook to share articles I have found that day while perusing the news websites. Recently, I posted the following link with all sorts of semi-scathing comments and my friend thought I reacted with defensiveness. The article reports the recommendations of the UK's green adviser that we all get serious about insisting that families limit their childbearing to no more than two children.

It might seem that I am defensive about this issue because I have five children. I have personally procreated more than most people I know will in their lifetime, and hopefully I’ll have at least a dozen grandchildren alternately bouncing on my knee, one at a time, someday. My knees will be completely shot by the end of my life.

No, I am not defensive because I have five children myself, although I do think that people with no children, or possibly just a couple children, may not “get” why anyone would want to have more than that. Here in Alaska, I have been blessed to know many families with many more children than we have. In California, I felt distinctly out of place for having more than two (and for being in my twenties at the time, at that).

The reason I get defensive about this issue is because:

THE WAY TO MAKE A BETTER WORLD FOR OUR GRANDCHILDREN IS NOT BY ELIMINATING THE GRANDCHILDREN!!

When I think about a pregnant woman, I think about that little person inside her as a living person who will probably come out of his or her mother and proceed to have a long life, ultimately being loved (it is the hope) by his or her parents and someday having a family of his or her own.

Or maybe that won’t happen. Maybe that person’s life will have pain, abandonment, and stress. I certainly know many people who have had far harder lives than mine, as most of my own struggles have been largely created by my own desire to “take the hard way,” as my mother would put it, and not by circumstances imposed upon me. There are many admirable people I know who have had a terrible upbringing with abuse and pain who have triumphed and established what seems like a very enjoyable and rewarding life for themselves.

Either way, the vast majority of people would not rather be dead. I am of the opinion that we should be fighting like hell to ensure that people can live and have the opportunity to experience this crazy ride. Are you a third, fourth, or fifth child? Was your mother or father a third, fourth, or fifth child? How terrible if that person was made or coerced to stop at two and you didn’t exist. I guess you can argue with me that this is illogical because we are already here and those future little 3s, 4s, and 5s aren’t.

One reason I am defensive is because establishing an ad campaign or “national conversation” about family planning and abortion results in coercion toward abortion as a choice when it is something that should not happen under coercion at all.

Example: A woman gets unexpectedly pregnant with child #3. She wants the baby. But that’s something you just don’t do. Government mandate or not, a campaign can do the job just as well. How about a national campaign to adopt babies? Or a grant program to fund adoptions? Adoptions cost a small fortune. Most people I know who would love to adopt babies have made a comment at some point about the debilitating costs of adoption.

I am so thankful to be living in a place where having lots of kids does not get us lots of strange looks. I remember all the looks we’d get in Los Angeles where, demographically, it was very weird to have more than two kids and to be in our twenties at the time. "A young white woman should not have four kids!” (Yep, I heard that one.) That was something that the Hispanics did, for example, and humorously, the only time I have ever overheard people criticizing my brood was by a Hispanic family here in Alaska when I was big and pregnant with #5. I am not, of course, trying to make some big point about Hispanics. I’m just pointing out that often these issues are charged with racial stereotypes and become a very racially pointed topic inadvertently. Our country has a long history of racism which is terrible, shameful, and even involves eugenics. God help us.

Why is it that we can come up with a cap-and-trade idea for manufacturing plants but the most creative we can get in this area of fertility is abortion? How about a cap-and-trade idea for family sizes? People who don’t want kids can get sterilized and “trade” their two-child-allotment to another family who want more. In a way, I’m joking, because this is an area the government should not be dictating, in my opinion, nor is our government dictating, so I don’t need to devise these schemes. But for all the talk about contraception, I’m very surprised that women have tolerated the dearth of healthy and effective options. There is a sexism in our culture which always looks to the woman to “deal” with these issues. The above article, for instance, appeared under the “Woman” heading of the Times. When I clicked on the “Man” tab, hoping against all hope that this article would also appear under it as though it might be of interest to them too, the heading shining out at me was “Does more sex cure a low libido?” Today, it's about "Men and Botox."

Before making sweeping statements about family size, it may behoove us to have a fresh conversation about how to be more green, regardless of family size. Last I checked, many large families I know don’t drive around as much. It’s too dang hard to get all the kids out and about, and we certainly don’t schlep kids around every night in a gas guzzler to after-school activities every single night of the week (big families, forgive me for generalizing…I’m just speaking from experience!). Clothing is seldom purchased new because hand-me-downs are cherished as the money-savers they are. Frugality is often a true need, not just a fun pastime. I myself, having used cloth diapers all these years, have probably used fewer disposables than a mother of just one baby has in the course of her child’s diapered years. We have a neighbor up the street who routinely drops a fresh toy or pair of shoes on our porch which her children have either tired of or outgrown and they’re usually brand new. Rock on. You go ahead and buy it all new if you want to! Not me.

Sadly, China provides us with an example of government-imposed fertility rates which, accompanied by what seems to be the inherent sexism of mankind, has resulted in entire generations of women being wiped out through selective abortion. What is cherished so much in western countries as a right has become a virtual annihilator of females in places like China and India. We are lying to ourselves if we think we here in America would do it differently. I like to think we would, but we’re not inherently better than them.

Holding the personal opinion that humans should only have two babies is your right. But to actually promote that can have terrible consequences and can also stifle our creativity in dealing with the issues at hand. Let’s not punish future generations of human beings, taking away their lives simply because our own choices over the past century have been so shortsighted.

Narration, Charlotte-Mason-style

We have transitioned to the Ambleside curriculum and I'm very pleased all in all. One of the key aspects of the CM method is to encourage narration after each reading. I have spent the last two weeks "feeling out" this narration process and how to best encourage it without turning it into a big drag. The books are far more rigorous and require more attention and focus than before.

We have had fun using different forms of narration. At times, Wolf acts out the stories himself or with his siblings; he has also used his action figures to tell the story back to me. Often, he'll do this now spontaneously without being asked. I'll ask him to do it more formally at times also. I have instructions now that I feel convey the point of what I'm asking of him: "Focus on the details of the story, and also think about what these characters were experiencing. What motivated them? What caused them to do these things? If you were this character, what would you think?" etc.

Our first experiences with this were a bit awkward. It felt like we were unnecessarily formalizing a process which we already do casually after reading together. Yet the increased rigor of the literature, along with the more complicated details of the story, are pushing him to think at a deep level and to communicate those thoughts with others. I have become very impressed with the process. I believe he's ready for the year 2 material but I'd like to finish up at least a good sampling of year 1 to make sure the foundation is set for what will be a rigorous book list soon enough.

Here are some pictures of how the rhinoceros got his skin according to Rudyard Kipling, complete with a blanket called the Red Sea and a gratuitous baby-bunny (look closely for her tail!). It was a spontaneous reenactment which involved colorful horns. Psalm also designed a flag for this country, perched it on a stick, and hung it up. Didn't get a picture of that part, but we were transported for the morning to a new locale and it was the cheapest vacation yet.

Psalm wanted to share his new skill with the grandparents

This is quite precious to me. Psalm reads a "Bob" book with some help from his twin sister. At the end, we get a surprise visitor who interrupts her nursing session to say hi.

By the way, when we first got the Bob books, I thought they were rather lame. None of the kids got into them while they were learning to read. Zoya has never spent five minutes looking at them. But for Psalm, they have been invaluable. He has shown less interest in reading so the simplicity and length appeal to him a great deal, while also encouraging him with a sense of accomplishment, as in, "Reading feels good." :)

Do I look funny or something?

(Baby secretly thinking, "YES! BATHTIME!")