Seven Quick Takes (vol. 4)

Spring Has Sprung!

I have been noticing lately that Spring has definitely sprung in America's deep south. Here are seven sure signs that winter is over for me.

1.  Master's Week is once again upon us. I've heard this is an absolutely beautiful course, held at the peak of azalea season the first week of April. Annual employees have their new uniforms and have attended their orientation. I know this because I will be working as a cashier at a concession stand during the week. Alleluia Community School always takes Easter vacation during Holy Week, which is not usually "Master's Week." This year they are one and the same, so I am taking advantage of this anomaly and working it.

2.  Andy has prepared and planted our three square foot gardens, and they are doing well. He did some research two years ago on "Square Foot Gardening" and decided to put his hand to the till. We have produced a variety of beautiful vegetables over the past two years using this method. This year we are focusing on a variety of tomatoes, lettuces, and Swiss chard.

3.  My amaryllis has bloomed for the first time in 10 years. This is the same plant I had in my flower garden two houses ago. I dug up the bulbs and brought them to our rural home, but they never bloomed for me during the three years we lived there. I dug them up again when we moved to our current home and replanted them, hoping they would bloom at our new home. We have lived at our current address for 6 years, and they have never bloomed until this year. I am puzzled, but very pleased.


4.  I looked outside my classroom window during lunch time today, and saw the high school girls enjoying their lunches in the courtyard. What a gorgeous day it is!



5. When the evenings get warmer, and daylight lasts longer, our neighborhood becomes more and more worthy of defending against the evil forces of the universe. Here is a scene straight out of Davy Crockett and the battle of the Alamo, twenty-first century style.

6. I have a skeleton in my classroom closet that comes out every spring, when we begin our unit on health. We aren't quite there yet, but I brought Mr. Bones out yesterday anyway, and my students have been having a blast with him. Mr. Bones is a sure sign that the school year is nearing its end.















7.  And lastly I leave you with thoughts turned toward Easter. I know it is not quite here yet, but the excitement of its promise is in the air. Easter is a sign of new birth, of seeds that were once dead, now bursting forth into new life. It is a time to turn our hearts toward Jesus, the Christ, who defeated death by rising from the dead, so that we might all share in His glorious resurrection. Easter is the ultimate celebration that spring has truly sprung! Amen! Alleluia! Glory!

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Big, Fat, Juicy Adjectives

Here's a fun way to teach your students about adjectives. Start with a simple sentence such as:

My big pig happily ate my juicy burrito.

Next spend some time identifying the adjectives. Since pig and burrito are nouns, the words that describe these nouns are adjectives.

Then the fun begins. Go around the room and let each student add an adjective to the sentence, which gets funnier and funnier as you go. 

1.  My big, fat pig happily ate my juicy, disgusting burrito.

2.  My big, fat, purple pig happily ate my juicy, disgusting, slimy burrito.

3.  My big, fat, purple, hairy pig happily ate my juicy, disgusting, slimy, green burrito.

4.  My big, fat, purple, hairy, good-for-nothing pig happily ate my juicy, disgusting, slimy, green, rotten burrito.

5.  My big, fat, purple, hairy, good-for-nothing, million-ton pig happily ate my juicy, disgusting, slimy, green, rotten, tasty burrito. (Yum!)

After the class has a good laugh, ask them to draw a picture of the final sentence. Here is a sample of what my class turned in after doing this activity a few weeks ago. (note: the pig at the top of this page is also student drawn).

Prim and Proper Pig

Bacon Strip Pig

Very Hairy Pig

Balloon Pig & Burrito Log

Riskin' It

I love it when Kevin has game night at the house with his buddies.

 For one thing, I love to listen to these boys fuss and carry on with each other. They have grown up together, and it has been my pleasure to witness their changing from little boys to young men.

Second, if they are here, then I know exactly where they are and what they are doing. I know that in a few years it won't be like this, so I'll take it while I can. It's not that I don't trust them, it's just a "mother thing" that makes us want be near our babies. Umbilical cords and heart strings may be one and the same.

So, as I busied myself around the house Friday night, I had one ear on the Risk game and was quite entertained. I used to hate these types of board games....you know, ones that go on forever and ever, even after the first person loses and drops out. Maybe it was because I hated being the one that had to sit and watch or go find something else to do for the next few hours, or even days.

But as a mother I've grown  to love these games. Anything that encourages this much interaction, healthy competition and camaraderie, and will keep teenagers occupied for hours or even days is a good thing. Especially when I consider the alternatives.

Here are a few clips from this weekend's Risk game (Lord of the Rings Edition).

Day 1 of  Play

Man Your Battle Stations

Day 2 of play

Planning His Strategy

The Agony of Defeat

Winning isn't Everything

The Thrill of Victory

A Day at the Swamp

We try very hard to make Sunday a family day, and when the weather is as beautiful as it was today, we spend it outside. Sometimes we go down to the Savannah River and play in the shallow rapids, or we might go to Lock and Dam and try our hand at fishing. Or sometimes we just get outside and take a walk around the neighborhood, or get a friendly game of soccer going in the backyard.

Today we decided to drive over to the local swamp to see what we could see. Phinizy Swamp Nature Park is a wetland on Augusta's south side that is used by the city's waterworks to aid in filtering waste water. It is also used in ecological education purposes for K-12 field trips as well as college level courses.

But we don't think about all that when we get the family together to spend some time in the great outdoors. We don't think about all that when we are enjoying the wildlife that thrives there. What we do think about is all the different kinds of birds, snakes, frogs, turtles, and lizards we have seen, and the occasional beaver and alligator that comes out of hiding.

Take a look at what we saw today.

Sleeping Cotton Mouth

Philip with American Anole

Tree frog in Lucia's hair

Turtle

And we think about how grateful we are to have had another great Sunday together as a family!

Seven Quick Takes (vol. 3)

Pampered For A Day

Last weekend Lucia was a bit disappointed that she could not go on the ski trip with the scouts, so I promised to give her a fun weekend anyway. Since it was just the two of us, we really played it up big. Here is a run down of our time together.

1.  The school bell rang at 3:00 on Friday, and the first thing we did was go to Lucia's basketball game. She played well, but her team could not pull off a win. The pink team lost to the purple team, 14 to 16.

2.  After a quick freshening up, we went to a friend's house to see their newborn baby, and were promptly invited to stay for supper. Lucia and I had plans, but she quickly decided that her preference was to stay, so we did.

3.  After supper we returned home to watch TWO American Girl movies, Felicity and Samantha. I love these movies because the role models for the girls have good, strong values, and they help the girls grow into good, morally strong women. They don't follow the trend of modern day movies that portray the adults as stupid and clueless, and the children as the ones needing to bail out their parents.

4.  When the movies and snacks were finished, after midnight, Lucia and I crawled into bed. I let her pick which side to sleep on, and she chose her daddy's side. There we slept until 9:00. We would have stayed in bed longer, but we had to pick up Grandma to head over to the bridal shop and pick up Lucia's junior bridesmaid dress for Aunt Johanna's wedding. What a beauty! I hope she doesn't surpass the bride:)

5.  Then, off we went to the St. Patrick's Day parade to march and throw candy! On the way home we stopped at Sonic for their happy hour slushes. Lucia got a Route 44 double lemon slush and she drank it all!

6.  We came home and recuperated from the afternoon heat, and then I took Lucia to see The Lorax. Aunt Amy is the general manager at a Regal Cinema, so every once-in-a-while we take the kids to see a movie that is worth watching. Lucia loved it! Since we hadn't had dinner yet, we ran through a McDonald's drive-thru on the way.

7.  As we were leaving the parking lot, I headed in the opposite direction as home. Lucia started questioning me, but I wouldn't answer her. She finally figured it out when we pulled into the Cold Stone Creamery, and she grinned from ear to ear. She loves ice cream!

Lucia enjoyed all the fuss, and had a lot to tell her daddy and siblings when they returned home, but when I pointed out to her that we could afford to do this every weekend if she didn't have two brothers and a sister, she very quickly and vehemently dismissed my proposal. She would never choose fuss and fanfare over her family, and for that I am so very, very grateful

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Twelfth Night Eve

One of the longest standing traditions of our fourth grade class is our annual Shakespearean productions.This was started by Karen Murrell, Alleluia Community School's fourth grade teacher for 16 years. She retired in 2008, but left a legacy of Shakespearean actors and actresses across the years.

Kevin (the one in turquoise)
as the "Doctor"
Romeo and Juliet 2006

Ania as Adrian
The Tempest 2008

Some of the plays had to be adapted to fit the demographics of the class. For example, in 2006, there were eight boys and only one girl, so I bet you can guess who got to star as Juliet! All the other roles were masculinized.

Philip as Julius Caesar 2010

Since she retired, Karen continues to come back each year and offer her expertise in these productions, and I am happy to allow her access to my students. This year, as well as last, we have a new director, Amy Parris, with Karen offering to produce the show.

So, as tradition would have it,"Twelfth Night" will be performed tomorrow, and, as with most plays performed by children of this age, it came together at the last minute, after much coaxing, bribing, encouraging, reminding, and nail biting.

So, without further ado, I offer you these scenes from today's dress rehearsal, and beg of thee thy prayers for tomorrow's performance.

Valentine and Maria
let in Sir Toby Belch

Lucia as Maria
Lady Olivia's Chamber Maid

Twins Sebastian and Viola
thought each other dead

Sebastian and Viola
reunited at last

Cast and Curtain Call

Malvolio realizes he's been
the victim of a cruel trick

Birds of a Feather

One of the great benefits our family received from moving to a rural setting when our children were young, was that they learned how to relate to children of all ages, and they learned how to be each other's best friends. This was due to the fact that there just weren't many children who lived around us.

That is a skill that they have carried over to their current suburban lifestyle, but I am still "cut to the quick" when I am blessed to see it in action.

We were out in the yard weeding the flowerbeds on Sunday, when I overheard a conversation between my sixth grader, Philip, and the neighbor boy who is in first grade.

Let me back up a little and set the stage. Philip LOVES weapons. He has Nerf swords, maces and hatchets. He has a bow and arrow, Airsoft rifles and can crack a bullwhip. He is a real man's man. The neighbor boy, Noah, LOVES weapons, too, and sees Philip as the authority in this area

Noah LOVES Philip. Philip is like a big brother to him. Philip LOVES Noah. Noah is like a little brother to him.

So there we were, working in the yard, with Philip and Noah deep in conversation about weaponry and battles. Noah asking the questions, and Philip supplying the answers. It was all rather a blur to me. Then I heard a question that piqued my interest.

Noah: "Philip, what are those kinds of birds that can talk?"

Philip: "Do you mean a parrot?"

Noah:  "No, they are smaller...oh, I know, a parakeet! That's what I want, a parakeet!"

Philip:  "Why do you want a parakeet?"

Noah: "So I could teach it to talk. Do you know what I would teach it to say?"

I was expecting to hear something predictable, something like, "en garde" or "put up your dukes" or some such battle cry. Instead, I heard something that melted my heart.

Noah: "Philip! I would teach it to say PHILIP!"

Every so often, God gives us an unexpected glimpse into the fruit of our lives. And when the fruit is this good, this sweet, this beautiful, it is worth more than gold!


  

St. Patrick's Day Parade

St. Patrick's Day dawned bright and glorious, and while Andy and three of our children were up in West Virginia snow skiing, Lucia and I were marching in Augusta's St. Patrick's Day parade once again this year.

Alleluia Community has for several years had a contingent marching in this parade. It started with just a couple of our college aged men desiring to represent Christianity in a parade that celebrated a Christian Holiday. They donned six foot crosses and proudly marched the downtown streets of Augusta, amid the floats and marching bands. Over the years it has grown from those first few men to entire families complete with babies in strollers and toddlers in wagons, throwing candy to those they pass along the parade route.

Lucia and Me

Marching on St. Patrick's Day has become a tradition for our family. The younger kids love the excitement of it all; the gathering of their friends and classmates; the sporting of silly green hats and fancy beads; the throwing of the candy. The older kids have taken their turns carrying one of the large crosses.

Yes, I have to admit, marching is fun, but there is more to our tradition than the secular world might realize.

We march because we want to remind others that St. Patrick's Day is a celebration of the life of a man who loved Jesus, and he lived his life in a way that is worthy of our admiration. We march because the world needs to hear the good news of Jesus' cross and resurrection. We march because we have been given this opportunity to represent Jesus, and if we don't take it, we may someday lose it. Sometimes we find mission work right in our own backyard.

So lift high those crosses, put on your green clothes, and let the celebration begin!

Waiting to Start

Here We Go1

Hi, Laura!

Lined Up On Broad Street

.

The Stroller Brigade

There's Kelly (In The Sheepfold)

Seven Quick Takes (vol. 2)

1.  Some things never change, like the game "Punch Buggy" I used to play when I was a child. Several years ago my children were surprised to learn that I already knew how to play this game. They were doubly surprised when I would "beat them to the punch." We had to declare the neighborhood turquoise VW Beetle off-limits to prevent unnecessary trips past the owner's driveway.


2.  So, my son Kevin was driving us to church on Sunday when I punched him in the arm and declared,"Silver punch buggy, no punch backs."

"Silver?" Kevin retorted. "You mean yellow!"

"No, Kevin," both his father and I argued, "That was silver."

"All I saw was pollen." Kevin replied.

Yes, unfortunately for allergy sufferers, the pollen is heavy this time of year. Everything IS yellow.




3.  Andy and I won a bouquet of flowers from our local Christian radio station, WAFJ, for our anniversary. I picked them up on Tuesday. They are beautiful!





4.  I opened up my laptop to blog the other day, when I found a note from Ania. What a sweetie! I love you, too!

 5.  The latest craze in our house, at least for Philip, Lucia and me is this treasure I found at our senior's yard sale on Saturday. If you haven't played this game in a while, it might be time to dust it off!





6.  It's difficult to get excited about a ski trip when it is 80 degrees outside. This is a much anticipated weekend for our scouts, who travel up to West Virginia every year mid March. I have a feeling that they will be putting it off until next year. My husband, their Scout Master, thinks otherwise. We should know in about two hours whether our boys will be sitting in their classrooms, or on their way to the slopes. I hope it is the latter.

7.  A sweet way to wrap up our chapter on rocks. I bought these at Wal-mart. Yum!



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