Happy Mother's Day, Birthday, Ascension

May is Will's birthday month. He turned 10!!! I can't believe it. My parent's came for the occasion. In past years, my mom has helped me plan, prep and carry out some sort of themed birthday fest for Will and friends. But this year was different. He had the choice of party or more expensive LEGO than he normally gets and as you can see from the picture - he wholeheartedly chose the LEGO. Whatever floats your boat, son. He also wanted a DQ cake so I was even off the hook for baking. Mom and I kept looking at each other on the days leading up to the big day thinking that we should be doing something to prepare. Other than wrapping gifts, making the requested beef enchilladas and his choice of breakfast (breakfast sandwhiches, BTW) that was all that was asked of me! Will had a great day and had completed the LEGO by morning (he took a sleeping break).
Ten days ago on Thursday we celebrated Ascension - the time in the church year when Jesus returned to heaven to prepare a place for believers in Christ. We celebrated by having a picnic outside (you can see in the picture my children eating their hotdogs and contemplating their great commission :) For dessert we had strawberries on a cloud - otherwise known as Cool Whip.

And finally, we celebrated Mother's Day - albeit a bit late but better late than never. Last fall, Mom and I had gone to the movies to see "Julie and Julia". I got her the DVD for her birthday in April and so for Mother's Day I took her to Le Cordon Bleu for a three course lunch. Yes, this is the same renowned culinary arts cooking school known so well in France and all over the world. It is the only one in North American. And it was fantastic!! What a treat - when can I go again?

Out of Town and Mother's Day

We'd been looking forward to a change of scenery for a long time. Last week we accompanied Wayne to Syracuse, NY for a Pastor's Conference. We went a day early and stayed at a resort with an indoor water park. It was lots of fun and the kids had a blast!
After our family getaway, we checked into the hotel that the other pastors were staying at (funny, no water park there!) and while Wayne was in meetings, I dragged the kids shopping. I had been having a "Target twitch" for months so one of our stops was to roam up and down the aisles of this wonderful place. We also (uh, I also) enjoyed going to the outlet mall and stocking up on the clothing deals for the kids. We don't have much for outlet malls here and it amazes me how cheap you can find things there. Let's just say the visit was a success and we'll leave it at that!
It's funny, the longer I'm gone from the States the more foreign it seems to me. This time we were especially struck my how difficult it was to eat well in restaurants. I even tried ordering a cobb salad and had trouble finding the lettuce that was hiding under 3 different types of meat and processed cheese. Our family usually just drinks water with most meals but most places made it more expensive to drink tap water and tried luring us with cheaper prices by ordering a value meal with a gigantic pop. As much as we complain about how green and healthy it is here (sometimes seems to be in the extreme) I guess it's rubbing off on us and now it seems weird not to have a separate path for bike's, bring your own bags to the grocery store and fill up that annoying green bin that's sure to stink up the joint come mid August. Anyway, when we came home I made a massive stir-fry loaded with veggies and made some whole wheat bread!

Mother's Day was lovely - how blessed I am to be called Mother! I received several homemade gifts made in cooking class and Sunday school. I also received a charm for my Pandora charm bracelet. I was treated to a Tim Horton's breakfast in the morning before my Pastor husband rushed out the door. What more could I ask for?

It's not just about me?! and children's fun fiction

Growing up, I had altogether too much American history so much so that I was unaware of the rest of the world. Part of this was due to the fact that we kept moving around and I would just miss geography. Don't get me wrong, I knew my states and capitals like the back of my hand. I studied my community and the state I lived in. I even went so far as to do a state report on another state I had never even been to! (how's that for exotic) But the bigger issue was that it just wasn't a priority in the curriculum. My family used to tease me about my lack of geographical knowledge. I didn't know if Europe was a country or a continent. Seriously.

As I entered adulthood with such a gaping whole in my learning , I suddenly found myself married to a man from another country. Then I found myself moving to this strange country north of the border that growing up I would cheer for in the Olympics if the US team wasn't doing so well. Yikes. I was really ignorant.

I am determined not to less this happen to my children. I want them to see the world God created - not just focus on a little corner. I want them to be exposed to other cultures, foods and religion in an environment where we can talk, learn and pray for people we may never meet. I want to them to see people that look and sound different from us as souls Christ came to save. And so I journey with my children all over the world (including North America!) through books.

Window on the World - a look at 92 unevangelized countries and peoples of the world. Included color photos, a story, interesting facts, maps and suggested prayers

What the World Eats - 25 families, 21 countries, 525 meals - photos taken of what families in various parts of the world eat in a week, how much it costs, where it comes from, challenges and stories. Amazing.

Material World - same idea as above except the homes people live in representing 30 countries

American Indian Prayer Guide - Historical and contemporary stories on the indigenous people of North, South, and Central America

Gladys Aylward:the adventure of a lifetime and And the Word Came with Power were biographies I read aloud

Same kind of Different as me - for adults; I recently read this and it moved me very much. It's a true story of two men - a modern day slave from the southern US and a rich Texan art dealer. Read with a box of kleenex. highly recommended!

Now onto Children's fun fiction

There is so much I don't think I could even put a dent in it. I will mention up front here that there's a lot of "twaddle" out there for children. By that I mean, well, crap. Dumbed down, abridged, poor quality, no substance, weak story line, underdeveloped characters. It doesn't have to be like this! Because there's also endearing characters we fall in love with, beautiful story lines, rich vocabulary - whole, living books. These are the ones we cherish the most and line our own bookshelves (which I beginning to think I need to get more of).

A great reference for me in finding all the good stuff is a book (of course) "Books Children Love - a guide to the best children's literature". Divided into genres, ages, reading levels, etc. Very helpful. Personal favorites for our family

Beatrix Potter - the complete tales

The complete Winnie the pooh

James Herriot's treasury for children

The Little House series

Virginia Lee Burton stories - great for boys!

Holly Hobbie books (toot and puddle)

Robert McCloskey books - Boston anyone?!!

C.S. Lewis - Narnia series

Charlotte's Web (Will: why are you crying mommy?)

The Secret World of Og (Will never laughed so hard!)

The Railway Children

The Boxcar Children

Ginger Pye

Jan Brett books

Johnny Tremain

Yes, I could go on but I think you get the idea. When we first made the decision not to put Will in junior kindergarten, I had no idea what our plan was. But the one thing I kept hearing and reading was to read, read, read with you kids. I figured that I could do and it would buy me some time. Even now that Will can read on his own, it does not replace the read aloud time we have snuggling on the couch or up in the play structure. He doesn't have to concentrate so much on reading and can enjoy hearing the story read to him as he's introduced to vocabulary and ideas above his reading level. And it's just plain fun! Yep, I'm definitely going to need more bookshelves!

Books, books and more books!

Hi, my name is Rachel and I am addicted to books.

There, I said it.

The kids and I were at the area bookstore last night (you know the one with the coffee shop conveniently attached?) and I felt downright giddy being surrounded by so many good reads. Granted, I was stuck in the kids' section but I still get excited. I think the written word is amazing - it transcends time, culture, language; communicates stories, lives, thoughts, ideas. It must be amazing for the Lord himself to choose this medium to carry His very words In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 WOW! Out of all the languages of all the world at all times he specifically choose Hebrew and Greek as the original languages of His written word for good reasons. Those that study these languages are amazed at how specific and precise these are. IE - our English language has one lousy word for "love". So I love my husband and children and I also "love" my Dairy Queen blizzard? Crazy but true in different ways. Deuteronomy goes on to say Fix these words of mine in you hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Deut 11:18. Matthew says that His words will NEVER pass away. His words have the power to change hearts and minds and to strengthen our very faith!

So as you can probably figure out, the Bible (love my Concordia self-study NIV)is my regular read and one I read to my children most often.

So when I'm not reading the Bible I like to read books about the Bible - people mentioned, specific doctrines, commentaries, history. Usually published by Northwestern Publishing House and sometimes by Concordia Publishing. My favorites worth noting would include the People's Bible series on the books of the Bible and teachings. I think it's interesting to read a Lutheran looks at series on other denominations, their history and teachings and how it differs from what we believe. I've read "The Fire and the Staff" twice now to see clearly how our doctrine affects our worship practices and how a change in worship practices can change doctrine (scary if not Biblical based). I LOVED the "Spirituality of the Cross" by Vieth and have highlighted the heck out of that one. "The Theology of the Cross" was one heavy read and I caught about half of it if I were to be honest. But the part that I got was amazing and I'll probably pick it back up in the future to attempt the other half! Awhile back I read "Connecting Sinai to Calvary - A guide to the Old Testament" by Jeske. Really helped me with the connection between the Hebrew lifestyle and my Savior. "Gospel Motivation - more than Jesus died for my sins" by Koester is a good one too. I'm currently reading the classic "Orthodoxy" by G.K. Chesterton.

Hang with me - I'm going to have to do this in several different posts by genres or I'll confuse myself.

Next genre would be the spiritual growth of my children. After all, as their mother my mission field starts in the home. Jesus commanded me and all believers to "GO and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Matthew 28:19, 20. Since their baptism as babies we've continued to nurture their spiritual growth through the means of grace - the Gospel in Word and Sacrament. Over the years as they grow developmentally we've adjusted the age appropriate levels that we do this but we try not to "dumb it down" too much. I think children retain and understand far more than we give them credit for. Abridged versions of Bible stories worked well early on. We mainly used the NPH Sunday School materials here at home and we could do two lessons over 4 days with a hymn study on Friday. BTW - the hymns in our hymnal are sooooooooooo good in their content. It's not about the "catchy" tune always but the spiritual truths and teachings that are taught through song. Even as babies, toddlers and preschoolers we've used the "Little Visits" devotions from NPH. Now with Will we are in our 2nd year with the Concordia Sunday School program and LOVE it! There's so much content that it takes us almost all week (at least 3 days anyway) to cover it all. It also follows the church year which I love because it ties it in to what is happening on Sunday - don't you just LOVE Good Shepherd Sunday?!!!!! We got to do it all week!! And on Fridays Daddy teaches the catechism (love the well-used pages of my blue Luther's Catechism). And no more abridged Bible stories - we got rid of that as soon as we could. Will received his first personal Bible a year and a half ago at Christmas with larger print that's easier to read. He also memorizes alot.

Stay tuned for more diverse genres (if anyone out there cares, because really I'm having a blast reminiscing about my books)!!!

Signs of Spring

Flowers picked from our front yard - brought in the house to enjoy!

This is the year for my lilac bush! I planted it several years ago and have been patiently waiting for those purple flowers. Nothing says spring like lilacs!!

And finally, we crack open a new box of sidewalk chalk. What fantastic colors!!!

Ode to my Tooth

Ode to my Tooth

There once was a tooth in my mouth

It started to hurt and things quickly went south

I'm in a lot of pain

I may go insane

So tomorrow it will no longer be

I will look like a hillbilly

Will and I are currently doing a unit on poetry so I thought I'd try my hand at it.

After spending thousands of dollars on orthodontic work in an effort to have straight teeth, and being 3 months away from being done with it all (or so I thought) I have a tooth that's unable to be saved. It's cracked inside so bad that a root canal would be useless. This one is being removed tomorrow. It's caused me pain for months now and in that respect I'll be glad to see it go. But I'm not looking forward to the hole. I've nothing against hillbillies ( I grew up in the Ozarks) but I'm not eager be toothless. Although this could be that little nudge I needed to start brewing some homespun moonshine in the backyard......

So I'm a little sad on this last day with my tooth. And all I really have left to say about it is - tomorrow when the Tooth Fairy comes to visit me, she should know my fee has gone up since she last came to visit - I expect some jewelry now:)

He is Risen!

The stone has been rolled away! In it's place is a butterfly - a symbol of new life.