Blessed Quietness

And so where have we been ... ?

2011-07-14T16:57:00.000-07:00

It's been pretty quiet over here for a long time, and I am sorry for not posting updates, but this Fall and Winter life suddenly became very, very busy and blogging just got put on the back burner. So thank you to the dear ones emailing and wondering where on earth I've been, and let me try to catch you up a bit.

First of all, last Fall while researching and praying about adopting a child through Snowflakes' embryo adoption and finally beginning background work we discovered that our seventh little one was on the way. We were a little surprised, but absolutely thrilled, and the embryo adoption has been put on hold for a while.

Shortly after that Nathan's employer, began to post a few positions in Northern CA for the first time in several years. This was very exciting since for the past three or four years we'd been hoping and working towards returning back home to be near our families. This began a flurry of travel to interviews, beginning of packing, just in case, and researching the various areas in and around Sacramento. The hiring process while always slow with government positions was even slower at this time and it wasn't until February that we were able to accept a position and begin house hunting in earnest.

We ended up being very blessed to purchase a home on a couple acres in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Placerville, CA and moved mid April. While it was sad to leave the dear friends we'd made in Southern CA, it is also wonderful to be home again! It's been such a full, fun season of revisiting old favorite places and introducing the boys to life in Northern CA. There are now great-grandparents to visit, both sets of our parents within easy driving range, and lots of aunts and uncles and even cousins to play with. It was a long wait for this move, but what a joy to be home!

Nathan and I with his parents where he was a groomsman in our good friend Mac's wedding - such a joy to be close again!

Mac and Nathan just after the ceremony.

Another precious blessing - being able to be with my Papa on his birthday!

Meanwhile, ultrasounds had revealed yet another surprise - baby number seven looks very much to be a daughter! What an amazing thing! After about the sixth ultrasound, all showing a tiny little girl, the idea is beginning to take hold and what fun to see all the pink that's finding it's way into our home! The brothers are a bit skeptical, but they are ready to welcome her and have announced that they plan for her to wear camouflage and play Little League just like they do. They currently have a solid ban on mermaids, ballet, and Barbies, but we will see. Several have been very interested in the tiny jeweled hair barrettes waiting for sister, and I'm pretty sure they are secretly enjoying the novelty of it all too. Baby is due any day now and while it means I'm going a lot slower, she and I are doing fine. It will be so wonderful to finally be able to hold her in our arms!

And so now life is settling into more of a routine. Summer break is underway and most of the boxes are unpacked. We have learned just exactly what poison oak looks like and and the kinds of mischief a foxtail seed can cause in dogs' eyes and noses and are waging war against both. But overall we are loving our home in a place where things grow so easily and are enjoying putting in fruit trees and working with the existing oaks and flowers. We've even found a nice church near home and are getting to know folks there.

Chris and John breaking in the new swing out front. They now prefer standing, or leaping off.

No stitches ... yet.

The boys and my Dad planting a maple for my birthday. Hoping it will be a fiery red like the ones I love near my grandparents in Grass Valley!

So this is where we've been. It has been such a full, wonderful season for us all. I truly have missed the blogging and sharing of news and photos but I am not sure if or when I will pick it up again. To be honest, the biggest reason for blogging was to help the ache in my heart for dear friends and family back home who had to miss all the little details of kids growing up and make life so full of joy. But I am torn too, because while blogging new friends were made, and old ones discovered, and these I have grown to love also. For now life is at a place where I will probably not write as often as before, but I may share updates every few months or so.

Thank you for your patience, and may you be blessed!

So Grateful for:

2010-11-10T08:06:00.000-08:00

1. Small boys who climb into our bed just before the alarm should be going off anyway.

2. Atonal but joyful whistling all day long. It's like four small echos of the whistled joy I've always loved in their father. I love it!

3. Woodsmoke on air cool enough to cause shivers for the first time this Fall.

4. Three brothers close enough in age to race each other through school work and then spend hours daily together practicing drop kicking a soccer ball. Many offered sympathy when a third little guy was scheduled to arrive just thirteen months after his brother, but they can't have known how quickly the work fades and how many blessings come along with close siblings. In a world where families are carefully "planned", I am often amazed by the beauty in relationships conventional wisdom teaches parents to deliberately avoid. They just can't know. We didn't know. But I am grateful now, oh so grateful for a heart that God softened to children early in marriage.

5. Nearly four year old Peter begging for yet one more bird outline in dots to complete and color. His little sketch book is filling quickly!

6. Lego masterpieces perching out of small boys' reach on tops of bookshelves. On the tops of just about ALL the bookshelves. :)

7. Forts made from old blankets and ropes complete with provisions in sacks for lunch.

8. Two and a half year old John finally big enough to share his thoughts. So precious, these first years of chatterings.

9. Cookie dough and recipes that need doubling just so there will be enough for a few cookies after samplings.

10. Tiredness reminding that Baby is safe and growing. Also pregnancy calendars for big brothers to check (hourly) to find that yes, baby does look a bit like a "wizard" this week, but though he's now the size of a cupcake sprinkle, he has a dear little heart beating away in his chest. Fearfully and wonderfully made he is. Just fearfully and wonderfully made.

Halloween 2010: A Jedi Year

2010-11-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

At our place, turning eight unlocks the original three Star Wars movies. Dan's our first, and it was a long awaited event with a several year countdown. Kind brother that he is, he has filled in the brothers with necessary details and this year we had requests for two Obi Wan Kenobis, while still young and fighting, please, and two Luke Skywalkers, dressed in black.

Chris still doesn't speak English, so he was content to be a Roman. Was not interested in his hat at all till he realized that all you have to do is put it on and follow your brothers and people even give you extra candy for being so cute.

Dan, as Obi Wan. Could NOT get him to smile for the pictures. Being a Jedi is serious business. The costumes were all his designs this year. He brought me pictures and descriptions and helped me figure out what colors and styles to go for. It ended up being a lot of fun for both of us and I'm considering letting him do some of the sewing next year if he still wants to. :)

Isaac, also as Obi Wan. As sole possessor of two functioning lightsabres, in non-dark-side colors no less, Isaac had extra bartering power with the big guys for the day. Really enjoyed his evening, but nearly got lost about six times. He kept trying to multi-task walking and treat sampling. Understandable goal, but not a great idea for somebody already prone to wandering.

Kept me busy with headcounts.

John had requested a Caesar costume, but ended up wearing his beloved "Mine Own", a striped cape. He was very happy, though it got in the way of stroller cruising quite often. Absolutely refused to go up to any house with a strobe light. Just said "NO!" firmly and we stayed at the sidewalk. Can't say that I blame him too much. They do look kind of spooky.

Noah, battling as Luke Skywalker. Again, when the costume goes on, so does the character. No kid stuff anymore. Very serious, and had a blast.

Peter as Luke Skywalker too. He'd been wearing his costume for weeks now. Loved knocking on doors, though he wanted to stop before the rest of them - said the bag was getting too heavy for his arms. Everything has it's price. This was fixed by some stroller time though.

The gang just before sunset and heading out to join kind friends in Trick or Treating in their neighborhood. Wonderful as country living is, it is kind of a bummer on Halloween. It's been five years since living in neighborhood with families and we had a lot of fun explaining what we were going to do that evening. It actually took a bit of convincing, "You mean we just walk up to their doors and knock, and they give us candy??? Hmmm." Noah was dead against it for a week beforehand. He came around after the first couple houses though. Ran up to me grinning and shared that Trick or Treating was WAY better than he'd thought!

Just a little announcement ...

2010-10-28T12:16:00.000-07:00

A new, tiny person has joined our family!

He or she won't be ready for holding until sometime in mid to late July 2011, but we are just thrilled to share our good news!

Soccer 2010

2010-10-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

Daniel, eight years old. Loves playing forward.

Noah, six years old. Enjoys forward, but does very well as a midfielder.

Isaac, five years old. Enjoys being on the team with the big boys and makes a great guard.

Coach Nathan and the Meteors at their first game. (Dan, Noah, and Isaac there on the far right.)

Dan and Noah at practice.

Nathan and Isaac.

Noah.

This is how Christian practices soccer.

John too.

Noah just after the first game. They lost, but the glory of the uniforms just about made up for it.

Big Brothers: One's Link With Style.

2010-10-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

Christian, thirteen months old, with hair styled by Daniel, eight years old.

September 2010.

Things that are making me smile, October 2010: Peter's drawings.

2010-10-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

There are few things that delight Peter more than a sheet of heavy "best-est" paper and a pencil. Latest love for subjects are squadrons of Mustangs and Zeros flying over tanks. He's an Alterton alright. Dear Peter - how his sweet spirit and attention to detail bless our family.

Give a boy ideas and blocks ...

2010-09-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

Can't say how grateful I am to be able to teach the boys at home! Just another fun moment: Dan's first chapter from The Story of Inventions sparked a ton of interest and ended up leading to his impromptu model of Newcomen's Steam Engine ... in Duplos. He tinkered for hours adjusting the design and trying to copy to diagrams just so. And while Dan has always leaned to the mechanical, I think most of the credit has to go to the wonderful books that inspire acting out of big ideas in little boys' play. What a blessing to be able to share learning in ways that delight!

Hello.html

2010-08-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

We've just discovered a great website for language learning with children online called Hello-World. It offers subscriptions to games, songs, and lessons in quite a few languages, and some are even free. We were using the German today and enjoyed hearing "Backe, backe Kuchen", a nursery rhyme song about baking that I remembered our German friends singing to me when a child. I'm still exploring what the site has to offer, but it looks like a good resource!

John's essentials:

2010-08-06T09:29:00.000-07:00

Tricycle, check. Sword, check. Bring on the fun!

Eight Boys Let Loose on Cabrillo Tide Pools ...

2010-07-31T13:50:00.000-07:00

After Peter's recent cast removal check in San Diego, we figured we may as well do something fun too and joined our friends the Saads and had a blast exploring a bit of Cabrillo's tide pools. Such cool, grey weather was a balm to my desert-dried soul! It's been two and a half years since moving from Vista near the beach and the boys had forgotten tide pool critters. And the joy of perching on a boulder and daring the spray to reach you. They found lobster parts, slid down small sandstone cliffs, got to touch a live crab, and were pulled back from cliff edges and kept from death. It was a good trip. I'm so glad God made oceans, and watching little boys enjoy them is great!

Very Good Baby Shower Gifts for Mothers of Boys

2010-07-28T21:50:00.000-07:00

When shopping for a friend's shower down aisles of soft blankets and color coordinated pacifiers I can't help thinking of all the other items she'll need. Ones she had no idea belonged on that baby registry, but really should have been, especially if the baby happens to be a little boy. I've never had the guts to fill a blue-cellophane-lined basket with things like these. Most people don't get three, four, six boys in a row, but if you have, you know what I'm talking about. Oh, do you know!
So here it is:

My "Very Good Baby Shower Gifts for Mothers of Boys" list.
1. Wall Spackle. The best kind is like this, in a nice little squeeze tube. For easy, frequent repairs.
2. Stud-finder. Because if it goes on a wall, it needs to be in a stud with a 2" screw. Curtain rods, wall hooks, TP holders, pictures. Trust me, just find the studs.
3. Goof-off. 'Nough said. Removes just about everything but permanent marker which is sadly, quite permanent.
4. Wax rings. You know, for when you've been searching for the toothbrush for five minutes and your toddler wonders aloud whether it might be in the toilet still. And the sluggish flush suddenly makes a lot of sense. Always keep at least two of them. And maybe a snake.
5. Compression dressings. For head lacerations, of which you'll have plenty. They bleed like crazy and are usually in places where band-aids won't go, like hair. I like to use a narrow ace wrap to hold a pad of gauze in place. It frees your hands for comforting, and cleanup.
6. Tweezers. Splinters.
7. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders. It's just better to know their names. Trust me. As in, "Isaac, just where do you think you're going with that sweet little root borer?" Lends dignity to a discussion. (I'm really, really glad we don't live in Indonesia with guys like these. Really glad.)
8. Magnifying glass, durable. Bug jars, plastic, with screw tops. If they made ones with child locking tops, it would be even better.
9. Hot Wheels cars. Never met a boy, or man come to think of it, who could pass them by.
10. Sturdy rubber boots and a Superman cape. And maybe a set for the boy.

*photo of duck by -mrsraggle-, shared with permission to use on flickr.

Things that are making me happy

2010-07-27T08:04:00.000-07:00

1. Christian toddling his six or seven careening steps with a big ol' grin and shriek of joy.
2. Dan, Noah, and Isaac playing Uno with all their might.
3. Pink smoothies.
4. Two year old John squatting the three inches lower to Baby's level and coaxing Chris to join in the fun and trying to carry him if the crawl is slower than hoped.
5. Boys fascinated by the new mower with a self propelled drive wheel and begging to mow the lawn again three days after the first go. ("Maybe, just maybe, if you are really, really good and get everything else done ...")
6. That place just under the kitchen air conditioner vent where 79 degrees feels almost truly cold. (And the cats sprawled all over the tile just under it).
7. Seeing the scorpion in the garage first.
8. Smashing the scorpion in the garage.
9. Books en route via UPS. (A very pretty version of Peter Pan to read with Noah this year).
10. Dan and Noah thrilled with The Bears of Blue River and summer days to read 70 pages at a sitting. (Action, adventure, NOT the friendly pet-bear book I had assumed, but one the boys absolutely love).
11. All the flies swatted.

12. Sprinkers three times a day.
13. Ice cubes.
14. The boys naming new little mice. ("Mrs. Antonio", "Hot Chocolate", "Hurria", "Bagheera", and "Gherkha". Subject to change, often.)
15. Everyone still calling the room Aunt Charity had on her visit, "Charity's room", even though she's been gone two weeks.
16. Bean bag wars.

One Very Small Storm Trooper

2010-07-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

The hat makes the man. John feeling a whole lot taller in Isaac's storm trooper helmet.

It's a Star Wars summer for Dan. In our family, the summer you turn eight is the threshold for watching the original three, and we scheduled the showing around Aunt Charity's recent visit. It was a big event. And if you wonder how showing a movie to one of six boys works, let me tell you, it isn't easy. It involves lots of reminders that the put-to-beds will be one day also be the one to stay up while brothers do their best to stay awake in bed for overheard gleanings, or to finally hear Darth Vader's march at the very least. But there is a lot of hope too, since any big brother worth his salt kindly tucks away the best parts of the movie to retell over, and over, and over to the less fortunate. And from the sound of things, Dan felt that just about all of those original three movies were "best parts". He went to bed each night just cackling at the glory of them and shouting that they were, "AWESOME!", and, "WAY better than he had thought!!!" The youngers are grateful, and light sabers now crash with renewed vigor. Bless George Lucas' heart.

Peter likes your little package, Grace.

2010-07-12T06:57:00.000-07:00

Quaker Meadow for the Fourth of July

2010-07-09T15:58:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Quaker Meadow Camp in the Sequoias. We joined my parents and Tim, Charity, and several other good friends from Sac Friends for a really fun weekend. The tents worked out fine, the boys had a blast, and four days later we're just about caught up on laundry. :)

Boys are finally getting big enough to make some decent day hikes. This was a pretty steep one to "The Garden of Eden", which had perhaps a few more mosquitoes than the original, but compared to the dry heat we're used to, was just lovely. The boy were awesome and made it down and back in two hours with just a few rides from Dad, Uncle Tim, and Grandpa.

Bouldering at the creek at the bottom of the hike.

Trees like these Isaac and the rest of the boys just don't see out here in the desert.

Back at the main camp for all kinds of activities, but this was one of the favorites: boating.

Baby Christian getting some snuggling with Grandma.

Ever see a three person tricycle boat?

What, does this look like a boy who might consider splashing an Auntie while canoeing? You're shocked, I know.

Even little Peter with his cast got to go out a couple times with Daddy.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was getting so much time to visit with my brother Tim.

Not sure what was going on with these caterpillars that Grandpa found, but they were fascinating.

Behold the other favorite activity: the zipline. And it's every bit as high as it looks in the picture, glory be, it ended right in front of our campsite. The boys were enthralled.

Brave Noah, usually the cautious one, but not today.

(And it was worth every bit of that wedgie, they tell me.)

Dan and Noah were fearless right up until the moment of leaping off ... and then decided that maybe Dad and our friend Stuart ought to try a run first. Noah also thought it best to watch Dan and then decide on the safety of it all. Dad and Stuart are a little blurry - they were going pretty fast.

But then awesomeness and glory trumped caution and they were hooked. Dan is above, and Noah follows.

Even Isaac, little five-year-old Isaac hauled that pulley down the road and up the hill to have a go. Or fifteen goes, to be more accurate. Bless those patient teenagers running the zipline.

It's good to be home again, and we're loving borrowing Aunt Charity for a bit, but what a refreshing weekend!

Heading to camp for the holiday ...

2010-07-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

What fun - we are joining my family at Quaker Meadow Christian Camp for the holiday. The photo is from an early trip of mine there. That's my Dad in the yellow canoe and I am about nine and in the larger one with my sister Hannah. A lot of great memories from QM - am really looking forward to sharing it with our boys and Nathan now!

Enjoy your Fourth as well!

Enjoying C. S. Lewis' biography, Surprised by Joy

2010-07-01T07:42:00.000-07:00

"In reading Chesterton, as in reading MacDonald, I did not know what I was letting myself in for. A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere-"Bibles laid open, millions of surprises," as Herbert says, "fine nets and stratagems." God is, if I may say it, very unscrupulous."

Funny. And true. God is mighty.

"Triple Bunks", or "How to Sleep More than 2.4 Children in a Standard Home"

2010-06-29T11:54:00.000-07:00

Because I have wondered about beds for big families too, I thought you might get a kick out our new bunks. Our home now is a generously built three bedroom and it's working fine, but extra space in bedrooms doesn't just happen automatically. Previously we've had bunks with a trundle bed or bunks with a single bed, but the poor guy on the trundle never seems to have a place for all his stuffed animals and gear, and the poor guy on the single always has brothers using it for a trampoline and no floor space to boot. Kind Daddy has been thinking about a set like these for a long time now and with little Christian nearing real-bed age he drew up plans and put them together this month. Not too bad, eh? Just one set for now, but they're such a hit that another set is planned to be in the works in a year or two.

Yes, they are a little shorter than your average bunk - about 22" from a mattress to the next bunk and we worried about not having enough headroom, but the boys are small enough that all but Dan can sit up on their beds. Bonus being that none of them have enough space for jumping on the mattresses anymore either. It's actually roomier feeling than you'd think, even for adults. There has been talk of glow in the dark stars up there on the underside of each bed. We'll see. For loot storage, Dad plans to add shelving at the headboard end, but he needed to get back to studying for now. Besides, it will be a better project for when the temperature goes down below a hundred at night anyways, don't you think?

Considering the occupants, we went for strength - the beds are built to hopefully withstand all the Alterton boy, which is saying something. And also withstand earthquakes, as worrier-Noah pointed out two minutes after climbing on for the first time and noticing that the bunks are too tall to tip over and too solid to shake apart. Seriously. Next tremor, I'm heading to their room. But the three oldest are thrilled with their new beds, and the three still in regular bunks are doing a lot of sneaking in to play up there till caught and booted out. So everything is in place, beds are staked out, the rooms are again working comfortably, and Aunt Charity's spare bed is even empty and ready for her visit next week. Now to get the three to quit being so excited that they can't settle down at night ... !

Baby sweet, baby dear!

2010-06-26T13:44:00.000-07:00

Little Christian Earl, ten months old.

Variations on our recent mouse-terrier related accident, followed by mouse burial-by-snake.

2010-06-25T08:18:00.000-07:00

Nothing like science at your door or er, table to inspire a slew of study and fine art.

Daniel's. He loves snakes of all kinds but is a sticker for realism. "Oh no! What was I thinking?!! I've gone and drawn a tree python!" So green the picture must be.

Noah worked at his for a long, long time to fill in all those stripes. He was particular about getting Karl's smile just right.

Isaac has never been overly burdened by reality on the other hand. He loves sparkle wherever he can get it. Hence Karl's rainbow makeover, which also took a good deal of time to finish.

Peter, not to be outdone by the brothers added a friend for Karl to his drawing. Cozy, isn't it? But no, this Mama's not going to take the hint. One snaky beauty is more than enough for right now.

Things that are making me smile:

2010-06-24T22:27:00.000-07:00

1. Haydn's "The Creation" music. You-tube excerpt
2. Parrot's new phrase: borrowing my voice and telling the boys to, "Hey, put Zanzibar back yard! Come on, come on. Let's go!" Then a pause and, "Goooood boy!!!"
3. That feeling while putting away the last piece of laundry.
4. Thinking up pretty hair barrettes to make for nieces.
5. Yet another unique lego jet modification from Peter, who just recently joined the brethren in the Lego Pit.
6. Finding Peter "teaching" John chess though neither can play, and the two of them solemnly taking turns moving pieces sideways across the board.
7. Every single vase and egg cup I own currently kept filled with precious blooming weeds from the oldest five.
8. Same boys insisting on small vases of their own next to their beds.
9. John crooning over the tiny black beetles which sneak inside this time of year.
10. The moments between winces while watching new bike stunts by Dan, Noah, and Isaac. Think: coasting at top speed while standing on one leg on the frame's bar. They rarely fall, thank goodness.
11. Encouraging words from others who love our Lord. (C. S. Lewis' Surprised By Joy.)
12. Crazy, rough days with a lot of tears but which end with a tired boy in my lap for a back rub, remembering the day's beautiful spots together, and finally soothed hearts and sleep.

So many, many gifts from our God.

Recent Reads, June 2010

2010-06-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

Not quite sure where the time for reading happens, but books are getting read!

1. Mary Poppins books one, two, and three, by P. L. Travers.

My, the stories are a bit different from Julie Andrews' spoonful of sugar, aren't they?! Entertaining and original, the real Mary Poppins is still beloved by Jane and Michael and their overlooked-by-Disney siblings, but she is a lot crustier. And sharper-tongued. We enjoyed the books as a read-aloud in second grade, but they did not make the favorite's list. They do provide culturally interesting insight into Victorian nursery life, and the first volume was pretty good but I'm not sure we'll make the others a permanent part of second grade reading.

2. Miracles on Maple Hill, by Virginia Sorensen.

Beautifully woven tale of a fictional family in mid century America. The father is newly returned from war and burdened with memories. The family moves from the city to their grandmother's old cabin in the country where they meet nature, wonderful neighbors, and begin to heal. Often stories about parents with troubles are depressing, but this is not one of them. Sorensen handles the situation with a good balance of realism and tact, and the father does indeed learn to move past his difficulties. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and am slating it for somewhere around sixth grade.

3. Common Sense Not Needed, by Corrie Ten Boom.

Corrie Ten Boom's short book telling of her pre Nazi concentration camp days when she ministered to mentally disabled people in Haarlem. She writes simply of her burden to share Jesus' love with these people and humbly makes suggestions on learning to keep the gospel clear and usable. Ten Boom has been one of my heroes since Mom read The Hiding Place to us in elementary school and it has been fun to get to know her better through her lesser known works. This is not a clinical book by any means but certainly touching and thought provoking.

4. The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins.

Proof that classics are not dull. Written by a friend of Dickens in the 1850s, The Woman in White is the story of a man's moonlit walk and a mysterious, terrified woman dressed all in white. Wonderfully haunting and hard to put down. Loved it! Planning to use in tenth grade or so.

5. Black Star, Bright Dawn, by Scott O'Dell.

Another book by author of The Island of the Blue Dolphins, this book follows a young Eskimo woman and her dogs in the challenging Iditarod race in Alaska. A short adventure book appropriate for reading to elementary aged and up. Fast moving, but not quite as satisfying as The Island. We will keep it as a free read, but frankly, Jack London's books White Fang and Call of the Wild cover very similar material and are much deeper and satisfying.

6. Gone-Away Lake, by Elizabeth Enright.

Oh my, this book brings back memories! Long ago at ten or twelve I happened on Enright's Gone-Away series either at the library or source-of-many-wonderful-books our friend's the Larsen's house and was captivated. The story begins with cousins stumbling on an abandoned summer community the middle of a swamp. Only it's not quite abandoned. Two delightful old siblings still live in the dilapidated houses and tell tales of early days to the children and share in new adventures. Wholesome, well-written fun filled with Enright's knack of understanding children perfectly. Great for fourth grade or so and older.

7. Mutiny on the Bounty, by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall.

Based on a true story, this is an exciting tale of the Bounty's 1787 voyage to collect a cargo of breadfruit trees for use in the West Indies. But the ship never arrives. Infamous Captain Bligh's cruelty leads the crew to revolt and the novel (and the two books written later on) follow their resulting adventures. Fascinating. Does contain descriptions of historically accurate shipboard violence, as well as brief appreciation of native Tahitian womens' topless beauty, which is fairly respectful and probably also historically accurate, but will make this a book for the high school aged and older.

8. Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends, by Sarah, Steven, and Grace Mally.

Written by three siblings offering insight and suggestions on helping children protect their relationships with family and staying close as they grow. Uses biblical principles and makes many good points. Is written in a casual style and perhaps aimed more at upper elementary or teen audience. Would work well as a family read aloud or devotional in a few years.

9. Tremendous Trifles, by G. K. Chesterton.

A collection of short essays on Chesterton's musings on life and sundries as he traveled, walked, or just sat and thought in the early 1900s. Lessons are drawn from things as simple as an injured leg or even the contents of a pocket. They are humorous with frequent serious turns to spiritual applications. The essays are also just the right length to work into a day filled with little people and mothering and added a welcome balance of thoughtful ideas.

This was a book I thoroughly enjoyed and plan to reread. Chesterton's attention to God in the details is contagious. Working through the chapters I began noticing so many little things in my own life that point to Him. And what an encouragement in a spiritual walk to read of another's joy in our God. Recommended for adults or a spiritually motivated tenth grader or so.

Rocketry Again

2010-06-17T09:16:00.000-07:00

More paper rocketry, though seeing as Peter is cast-free, it's been a month or so. They were having fun, I promise, even though they look miserable in the picture. We had a nice crop of mosquitoes about then too. Makes it hard on a guy to smile for the camera. Itching trumps blog shots hands down.

So far we've not yet done rockets that actually fly - I'm not sure they've even considered the possibility. Call me silly, but I just keep shying away from the idea of setting these guys loose with sundry explosives. But it looks like this summer may be a good time to try it. With lots, and lots, and lots of supervision. Maybe when Aunt Charity is down visiting. She could use a little excitement, don't you think?

Dan is into the American rockets right now. Very safe, very traditional. Also very big. He likes to win. This is his version of the Saturn V Apollo ... with a Japanese MU-3H attached missile style??? Occasionally tradition must make way for increased awesomeness.

Isaac's was a Japanese rocket also, mainly because the boys and Chris all woke up from naps and thought they would all like rockets too. You can do a lot of things while holding a baby, but model rockets isn't one of them. The Mu series is small, compact, and doesn't have a bazillion tiny cones to attach at the base. We went for an accelerated production model. Little brother-like, they were still thrilled.

Peter's version of the Mu. Horrified Dan was certain the Japanese never, ever painted real ones like that. It pleased Peter though. He slept with his rocket for a week.

Kind Daniel to help with John's nose cone. Rocket sounds must be intrinsic to boys though because I'm sure John's never seen one before, but he had the sound effects down pat. It's wonderful to play with the big guys.

When Astronauts Have Large Families ...

2010-06-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

Noah has been on a rocket kick lately, and here is one of the recent drawings. (Scribbles added by John in a quiet moment.) It's meant to be the Soviet G-1-E "Super Booster" - not that he knows that much about them yet, but the Soviet designs always catch his eye on the boys' Space Rockets poster, similar to this one. His rocket appears to have been retrofitted a bit though. If you zoom in there you can see Noah added a ton of beds, including a huge stack of bunks there at the end. He's planning on inviting all his kids on future missions. :)

When the blog is silent life is lively.

2010-06-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to notice a pattern. Summer and holidays are just not for spending time at the keyboard. But I know you dear friends are still checking in on us every now and then, and I'm sorry for letting things lapse. But to fill in the family doings lately ...

-Nathan is still studying for the PE exam but took a break for a few weeks to work on a set of triple bunks for Dan, Noah, and Isaac. It's mostly Dad's project but he's got the boys trained on the router and sander and everybody's helping. The beds are just about finished and will look a lot like these, only he's making them easier to disassemble and adding bookshelves to the headboards. And yes, they will have railings, despite promises not to fall.

- We've had a lot of birthdays. Noah turned six, entered official schooling age, and left carseats behind forever. (Cheering from Mom and Dad - back down to four carseats!!!) Noah still loves all animals, especially furry ones. He decided to release the Ninja cottontail foundling (it will be fine, I don't think it is really possible to domesticate that kind of bunny), and picked out a lovely white pet store rabbit instead. Her name is "Furria" and she is just doted on. Noah is really developing a love of sports too and is looking forward to soccer this fall with Daniel.

-Next, I turned the big thirty, about the same time was blessed with a handful of blooms on my (minimal) gardening try this year, and found two grey hairs. I pulled them out, but probably won't bother with the next ones. It's not that big a deal, and besides, we've waited a long time to finally look old enough to have all these kids. :) Life is very, very busy, and very, very full, but I love it that way. I am learning to let a lot of the less important things slide and just enjoy little hugs and laughter. It is a very blessed life.

-Right behind Mom was Isaac's fifth birthday. Five is a big age too, and Isaac is thrilled to be the owner of the kindergarten bookshelf now. AND a kindergarten mathbook of his own. AND promoted to the non-napper crowd. Musn't forget that. He is fully loving legos, rollerblades, singing to his own little songs on the piano, and races his bike with no fear. He is growing so quickly and is a brave, dear, sunny part of our family.

-Peter's arm is still healing well and in the original cast. I have no idea how he's made it this long, since the boys are all spending morning and evening with hoses and mud. But dear Peter was born with a careful nature and just digs on with his good hand so far. One week left, and the boys are all counting down to swimming time. Ice-cream cones all around if he makes it without needing to get a replacement cast before then. Double scoops, maybe.

-Dan is done with the school year but we're getting started with free reads for third grade. Our first was Alice in Wonderland which he actually liked alot. Kind of surprised me. I had that one pegged as one to put off to the end till we ran out of good books, but he chose it first and laughed all the way through it. His favorite part: the Cheshire Cat. Dan still loves all things mechanical or science related, and all things "real". He is a planner and keeps life moving along for the rest of us.

-John at two is very ... busy. He is our fifth son, but I'm here to tell you that personalities will repeat themselves if you have enough children. We call John our "Firstborn fifth-born", and is it ever true. This boy is full of energy and ideas and is just driven to catch up with his brothers. He recently discovered the freedom in mastering door lock, including locking us all out (and that's saying something - I'm no greenhorn to locks and toddlers by now!), popping half the keys off my keyboard, feeding himself and Christian half a box of otter pops, getting out the van keys and taking them out to the van - probably was only stopped from starting the engine by being too short to reach the handles, and sweetly tagging along in whatever we are doing and trying hard to master it too. His newest phrase? "Oh, goodness!!!!"

-Baby Christian is ten months old and just sunny and charming. He has four teeth on top and three below and just discovered the excitement of cruising the walls. He is also noticing that certain items have vertical potential and is working hard on learning to climb. Oh joy. :) Such sweetness!

So this is what is taking the place of words on the blog. I'd love to hear how things are on all of your ends too. Shoot me an email or give a call. And do enjoy your summer too!

Your pitch-pipe is still going strong, Grandma Alterton

2010-05-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Has been a top-five favorite toy of toddlers since you sent it home with Noah one year. John just found it yesterday and has been humming whenever he can. :)

Peter is doing much better, thank you!

2010-05-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to all of you who knew and were praying with us about Peter's arm excitement this weekend! He landed funny while jumping on the trampoline - didn't fall off, just landed on his arm, but ended up with a fracture of the humerus just above the elbow. Ouch!

Thankfully it happened Saturday morning so Nathan was home and able to make the ER run while I stayed with the rest of the troops. So he and Peter spent their morning in triage in the local hospital. Peter was quite scandalized that the nurses cut off his shirt even after his telling them that Mom says NO cutting shirts with scissors. But he was very brave, even through the 5.3 earthquake. He then wound up with our first Alterton-boy ambulance ride (just a transfer, no lights and sirens thankfully) to a larger hospital in San Diego for treatment. He had a minor surgery and pins placed and a full arm cast to boot and spent the night there with Daddy for observation.

Praise the Lord everything went smoothly and he was back home the next day. He'd missed his brothers a lot and was very glad to be back in the middle of things again. He's had a little trouble finding things that are fun to do with a cast though. His first idea was the trampoline again, which we nixed. Then he tried one-armed rope swinging, which was also a bust. Finally, he settled on his tricycle, which worked pretty well.

And in the end, there were so many things to be grateful for. But mostly, it is just wonderful to have his little self home again to hug and play with. Thank you again for all your concern and prayers!

Picture Study: Copley's Jack Black

2010-05-11T10:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok, so it's actually J. S. Copley's Paul Revere, but I can't tell you how many people have commented on our interesting picture of the actor Jack Black there by the front door the past two weeks.

Funny, two hundred plus years between the two, but a remarkable similarity.

Image of Jack Black from TVTropes

When a Firstborn Parents a Firstborn, It's Fair to Expect Challenges

2010-04-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

Places Mom Will Find Your Despised Peanut-Butter Sandwich:

-Uneaten and thrown away.
-Under Noah's chair cushion.
-Up in the supports beneath the table top.
-Torn into little pieces and slipped beneath the pantry door.
-Spit out and secreted behind the bookcase.

It's been a long week.

We may both be a lot happier if Zanzibar is inside during lunch.

I'll call it a draw.

Grateful for:

2010-04-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

-The sound of crickets.

-Cool breeze through an open window.

-Really long, good audio books like The Count of Monte Cristo (unabridged, only 40 pages or so left out of about 1000!)

-Singing Madame Butterfly fakey opera with Peter, whose voice still lets him soar with the soprano and who hasn't learned to be self-conscious yet.

-A warm day and the feeling of cool tile on bare feet.

-Dimples in Christian's cheeks.

-Chris' brand new crawling, pulling up, and newest of all, bobbing his soft little head along with music.

-Dan and Noah and a box of transformers in the shade.

-The smell of the lawn mower and cut grass.

-John coaxing the cat with stitches in her chin to "eat some" from a spoon.

-Noah persistently wishing for ice skates for his birthday next week, despite suggestions that perhaps they may not be very exciting while living in the rural desert.

-Daniel's "doing science" with anything and everything.

-Daniel learning NOT to "do science" with things belonging to the rest of us.

-Phone calls with my Mama.

-Isaac's quiet little questions in the dark about frogs croaking.

-Thoughts about the beautiful order of God's world sparked in Mama and bigger boys who were wondering about frogs too.

-The washing machine finally silent.

-Five little boys who can't possibly sleep with out a goodnight kiss or three.

Rejected baby-toy offerings

2010-04-15T16:46:00.000-07:00

It's always good to stay on your toes with the relationship between the resident two year old and baby just below. Interactions are usually out of love, but since neither have much logic yet you often get some interesting scenarios.

Like all big babies, our John is fascinated by little Christian and he dearly loves to slip new toys over the edge of the play-pen. He's quiet as the grave, and Chris doesn't tell, unless you count the chuckling over the new item. So out of necessity I've developed a habit of giving the pen a good look whenever cruising by throughout the day.

Recent gifts have been a whole box of colored pencils, dog food, an old banana, math blocks, plastic swords, and nerf darts and guns. I know it's out of love, but they're not exactly Fisher Price, you know?

Added to the list today:

-Potato Peeler.

Sigh.

Deep thoughts in the morning from the five-year-old:

2010-04-14T09:09:00.001-07:00

"Mom, I'm really wishing I could see inside of Daniel.
Because then I
could really see his bones.
It would be science.
I would love that."

-Noah, five years old, on trying to count ribs from the outside.

Going to see about digging up the old nursing textbooks this afternoon ...

Photo of skeleton by Woodlywonderworks. http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/ / CC BY 2.0

'>Link

Thanks for your patience ...

2010-04-14T08:31:00.000-07:00

We're having a little trouble with our computer just now. The old one died, was revived, and is now running on bare bones. Warrenty is supplying a new one, but it may be a bit before everything is up and running again. Thanks!

-Faith

I know, I know - posting is on the back burner lately.

2010-04-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

We're still here, and keeping busy, just not having much free time to blog. I'd love to, really, but six little someones keep needing me at the same time. Like the grown up Anne in "Rainbow Valley", this is a time for writing "living epistles" more regularly than printed ones. Whoo boy, is it!

But in the interest of keeping up to date, here's the most interesting thing that's happened lately: we had a doozy of an earthquake Easter afternoon last week. The epicenter was about forty miles away in Baja California, but the quake registered a 7.2, which is pretty high up there on the richtor scale. Thankfully this is a rural area with few high buildings or it would have been a mess. We were blessed to make it through with little more problems than jumpy nerves.

The boys woke early that day to find their Easter basket of candy, which was proclaimed by Isaac's holler of, "Boys! Boys! Boys! It's time to eat!!!" They enjoyed the chocolate and "crunchy chickens" (Peeps) very much. Church was lovely. Then in the middle of the little ones napping and getting set up for dying eggs when the air was filled with a deep rumble like far off thunder, only deeper, and a lot scarier and it got louder and louder till even the air itself seemed to shake.

We have pretty frequent smaller tremors out here, but they usually just make the ceiling fans twitch a bit, nothing more. But this one just got stronger and stronger so we snatched up the little ones and raced outside to wait until things settled down. It was a sight to remember for sure. The rumbling was so loud and so prevalent - the noise just surrounded us - over, under, everywhere. The van in the driveway shot around on it's shocks like it was four-wheeling, only it was parked, and the house itself though solidly built rocked and rolled pretty badly for a couple minutes. Furniture was shifted and pictures and vases were smashed, but praise God there was no serious damage. And then just as suddenly as it came, things were still again. So though a bit rattled, we cleaned up the broken glass and sloshed fish tank water and picked up with dying eggs.

Since then there have been good sized aftershocks in the 4 and 5 range every day or so, which means calls from Nathan at work with a "Hi, dear, just called to see how your day was going, oh, and did you feel that last one?" Or, like last night, my favorite kind which come in the wee hours set the dogs to barking like crazy just before a heavy, low rumble wakes you and a couple toddlers and sets the house to rocking ever so gently while everyone except optomist Nathan is very very tense for the few seconds it lasts. Then whoever woke tries to go back to sleep and not think about it. Nothing horribly frightening or serious, but still, there have been a lot of little visitors in our bed lately.

But there are some upsides. One is that it is surprisingly satisfying to finally have a chance to use those years of earthquake drills and assemblies all California public schools students get to practice. They weren't joking. It's not really someting I'd have volunteered for, but still, I no longer consider the time spent a waste. The quakes are also sparking some lovely homeschool science lessons, and the boys are giving them their full attention, let me tell you. And though the "friendly little quakes" are fairly frequent, at least we're getting used to them. Just the same though, this is one Mama who will be relieved to have the ground reliably steady again.

Fun little site where you can check on recent seismic activity in your area. We've been spending a lot of time there lately. :)

http://quake.usgs.gov/recenteqs/latest.htm

Composer Study: The Barber of Seville, a bit unconventionally.

2010-03-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

Continuing along with classical opera composer study with Rossini's The Barber of Seville, we ran across this YouTube performance. And I must say, the men are inspired.

And hello to you too.

2010-03-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

Came into the kitchen the other day to find this staring at me from the counter. It gave me a bit of a start.

Meet Bat-Pineapple. He was Noah's brainchild.

I'm telling you, if life is a little boring, just get yourself a boy or six and they will liven things right up.

Well, if you've wondered where we've been lately ....

2010-03-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

This may have something to do with it:

Also this:

Baseball is back in full swing, and we're finding ourselves at the park a good deal right now. Add to that wonderful visits from family and old friends, Awana Grand Prix cars to design and build, field trips, babies teething, another stab at flowers from seeds in the garden, just beautiful weather, and there's just not been much time to sit at the desk.

So instead of words, I'm going to go with just easy pictures today:

Dan and his team.

Batting - the moment they all love the best - and so much better now that the demeaning tee is gone!

Brothers not on the team spend most of game and practice with their own gloves behind the bleachers. Here John plays catch (sort of) with kind Susy, our friend from Nathan and my own homeschooling days who has been over on a visit - brave girl! But so much fun.

So apologies for slim posting right now. Hopefully you all are enjoying your Spring too!

New Photos of Great-Grandma Eleanor C. Blacklidge

2010-03-08T23:01:00.001-08:00

Just received a wonderful package from family in Arizona with new photographs of my great-grandmother Eleanor Caroline (Roberts) Blacklidge and wanted to post them here for the rest of our family too. And if Mom or any of the Aunts have more details on people pictured, I'd be thrilled if you'd email me.

Eleanor Caroline Roberts (Blacklidge), printed in Tombstone, AZ, circa 1897. This is my mother's grandmother. What darling little feet she had, and such a ruffled collar. Just like a baby doll!

Eleanor Caroline Roberts (Blacklidge), taken in Phoenix, AZ, circa 1920. Here she is all grown up. With the dark, wavy hair she certainly reminds me of my own Mom. And her eyes make me think of my Nana Ruth George, her daughter.

Captioned: "Benson August 1918. "Orphan Annies". Mrs. Blacklidge and the girls on Mon. -Eleanor." But no specifics on who is who.

(Later Amended after email from Great Aunt Earlene): Hi, I posted a comment on the blog but I don't think it went through. The Person on the left is my mother Ruth Roberts Smith, center Mrs. Trask but am not sure about the person on the right. It may be your great grandmother. Grandpa Roberts was the Benson preacher for awhile. Your Great grandmother had very curly hair. All three of the girls had curly hair but She had the the curliest.

Aunt Earlelne

Mom, or Aunt Wendy or Aunt Kerry, if you see these, any idea who these ladies are? I thought possibly that is Mrs. Blacklidge (on left?), which would maybe be Laura M. (Trask) Blacklidge, Frank Edwin Blacklidge II's mother, and Eleanor's mother-in-law to-be. One of girls might be Myrtle Blacklidge (Lamoureux), Laura M.'s daughter.

So this is a closer view of Ruth Roberts Smith.

One more example of why it's so important to jot those names on the backs of pictures! You never know if a great-grandaughter will end up puzzling over one someday. But still very fun to see and share.

Found

2010-03-06T20:41:00.000-08:00

All's clear on the snake-end of things, Noah found Karl hanging out in a corner of his closet mixed in with the pirate toys. He's fine, we're fine, and he's back in his cage enjoying some heat-pad time. Noah added the dollar to his wallet, I can walk around barefoot at night again without cringing, and Grandpa and Grandma Alterton won't have to worry nearly so much about their visit next week!

He's out again ...

2010-03-03T08:07:00.001-08:00

Oh guys, put in a prayer for me today. Karl-the-long-and-lovely is loose again. This is only the second time in the six months he's been a resident here, which is better than I'd expected, but still, there is a 40 inch kingsnake on safari .... somewhere.

He's harmless, and will probably be as startled as I will to be found, but still. Bless his slithery heart, he better not turn up in my laundry basket. Or under a towel. And he better not go anywhere near Christian's play pen. In fact, I really would just like him back in his terrarium.

As before, there is a bounty out on Karl. A paper dollar to whoever finds him, and another to whoever gets his long self safely back behind glass. Kind of like hunting Easter eggs, only the eggs are mobile and can make Mama shriek. The boys are loving it.

A thorough cleaning of the boys' dresser, closet and under bed area wasn't really in the plan for today, but we're gonna fit it in. Meanwhile, I'm keeping a very sharp eye out ... every ... where ... I ... go ... !

Early March Quick-Takes

2010-03-02T21:10:00.000-08:00

Whew! Aside from the regular fun and craziness there's been a lot going on down here recently:

1. Christian sprouted his very first, darling tooth! It's his bottom left, and just tall enough to clink on a spoon. He is a sunny baby and hasn't seemed bothered by it much. The boys are thrilled and it's all I can do to keep their loving, but not so clean hands from checking on Christian's progress.

2. Speaking of teeth clinking on spoons ... Christian started eating solid food this week. Well, "solid" as in powdered oatmeal mixed with applesauce, etc. Again, the boy has quite the fan club as the brothers encourage and laugh at the funny faces. John, in particular is really taken with his little brother's new skill and is dying to hold the spoon for baby. It's not happening, but the thought is sweet.

3. Noah has his first honest-to-goodness, naturally-loose tooth. This is a big deal. Noah is five, very independent, and has lost two front teeth so far due to pushing the skill-envelope. He still gets a dollar under his pillow for accidental losses, but they're just not as fun for Mom to explain. But this time his bottom front tooth is wiggly for real. He's saving for something right now and is anxious to hurry it along. :)

4. God has decided Noah really ought to have a rabbit. At least for the time being. Noah has wished for a bunny for some time, but we are kind of at animal capacity right now and have been holding off. But this weekend the Lord sent one - through Dan's cat. She came home with the tiniest, darlingest, most perfect little cottontail baby you can imagine squealing in her mouth. Amazingly, his little golf-ball sized self was unharmed, though his eyes were still shut and with so many fields around there was no way to return him to his mother.

So after a quick call to rabbit-wise friends, we were set up with a tiny bunny nursery, kitten formula, and another great biology lesson. It took a while to figure out bottle-feeding something so tiny, but he's learning fast. His eyes are open and he's almost the size of a baseball and able to hop around a bit, so so far so good.

5. Dan is back in Little League with Nathan helping assistant coach again. And they're looking forward to an even better season this year. T-ball was fun, but now the guys can actually score, the Ts are history, and we even managed to get to be the Oakland A's. Dad - I mean Dan - is loving it!

Happy, just upside down.

2010-02-27T08:33:00.001-08:00

No idea what the thought was here, but I caught Isaac spending a good length of time quietly upside down in one of the diggings one afternoon. Upside down, but very content.

More on Seating Lots of Little Guys

2010-02-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

We've already done a few posts on table logistics for a family with a number of preschoolers, but since it's kind of a problem you don't always hear discussed, I thought I'd put out one more idea.

See, the trouble is that children under seven or eight really aren't tall enough to eat comfortably sitting on an adult chair. But the novelty of a booster seat wears out. That, and with children spaced as closely as ours you could be looking at four separate boosters, and not much flexibility for guests. So this year with three old enough for booster promotion, we tried something a little different.

We've been very happy with our long bench from Cost Plus World Market, similar to this one. It's sturdy, and the design is pretty, but it's just not quite tall enough. So Nathan fixed it by building a pair of lifters for the entire bench.

They were very simple to put together and are made from two-by-fours stacked to make a four-inch platform and then framed all the way around with one-by-sixes to make a lip so the bench feet don't scoot off. The whole lifter is removable but very heavy and stable, and when stained to match the bench doesn't hardly show at all.

There will be a day when this house is filled with big, tall, manly men, but until then having a whole row of raised table seating is so handy!

Awana Musings

2010-02-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

Dan, on his Awana verse copywork:

Mom, I REALLY don't like this verse. Not at all.

Which one? Can you read it to me?

"After that, we who are still alive and are left will be cut up ..."

I just really don't like that at all.

Yikes! Didn't remember a story like that. Especially in Paul's letters. Bible stuff trumps laundry so I put down the shirt I was folding and walked over and then had to laugh. The verse was 1 Thessalonians 4:17 and really reads:

"After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."

It's actually one of my favorite verses - the picture of joining Jesus in the air is just a beautiful one. But he's right, change that word "caught" to "cut" and it's quite a different thought!

Photo by BOSSoNe0013's photostream, with permission granted for sharing.

Just Like Quesadillas

2010-02-23T10:00:00.000-08:00

While waiting for Dan to drift off the other day ...

Mom, what is it you call the thing that holds the pillow?

A pillow case?

Oh, yes. Now I remember. Well mine is five head-lengths long.

Hmm. Interesting. Now go to sleep.

(quiet for a while)

Mom? I get it! Pillowcase, just like "case-a-dee-ah". The pillowcase has a pillow in it, and the tortilla has cheese!

Umm, not really.

Language is so fun.

Survived.

2010-02-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

This Viking is one lucky guy. He turned up in the boys' diggings after two weeks of being buried in volcano rubble.

Dan and Noah explained that two Vikings were out camping in recent rainstorms and chose to sleep in a cave ... built into the side of a volcano. Maybe it was warmer or something. Who knows. Plastic guys don't always show the most common sense.

Of course the inevitable eruption occurred and only one made it out. Until today. He's been washed and returned to his ship and is feeling great despite it all.

What a life.

An Official How-to Post on Picture Study for Analene.

2010-02-20T06:00:00.001-08:00

I still want to catch up on the phone Analene, but thought maybe this would be worth putting up too. Links are hard to send over the phone!

Current picture on display at our house:
Tahitian Women on the Beach, by Paul Gauguin, 1891, found at Wikipedia.

Picture Study, a la Ambleside and Charlotte Mason

The point: To make great and lovely works of art a consistent part of life at home.

CM wrote a lot about the silliness of giving children "twaddle", or the teacher stepping in to interpret great authors or artists to their students. When given a chance, children are able to appreciate beauty in words and art just as adults are. Great classics should be presented to children in their original forms and allowed to speak for themselves.

In that light, picture study is putting prints of great art on display at home and teaching the children to enjoy them. The nice thing about doing this at home is that as a parent you only have to set this up once and all the children, even preschoolers, can participate at the same time.

Where to find the prints: Join the AO Art Prints Yahoo Group for prints pre-labeled and formatted for 8" by 10" printing.

If you have a background in art, you could probably put together a set of prints on your own to study, but I know next to nothing in this area so it's easiest to use the suggested free art schedule rotation found over at Ambleside Online.

This is an 11 year rotation researched and chosen by the advisory board and covering many of the greatest and most well-known works of western art. Generally we look at one artist per three-month term, and introduce one new work every other week. It works out to about six selections per artist.

Print them out on heavy paper:

Download the pictures for the term you choose to start on and print them onto heavy paper. Michaels sells a pad of heavy, textured watercolor paper for about $4 for fifteen pages which I trim down to 8" by 10" and feed through the printer one page at a time. The nicer paper makes a difference.

For simplicity's sake I do all the choosing and printing for the year in the Summer and store the prints in plastic sheet protectors in a binder. I also print out a copy of Wikipedia's article on the artist and put that in a sleeve too. Finished prints go into a file to save for another rotation down the line.

Setting it up: Do what fits your home.

As for how to use this with your children? That's kind of up to what works best for your family. We have a small table by the front door that looked like it needed something pretty on it, so I bought a cheap, plain, black 11" by 14" matted frame and a metal easel stand like this for it.

Every other Monday I put a new print into the frame and bring it to the table at lunch. The boys just look at it for a while at first and talk about the colors, seasons, or other really obvious parts of the picture at first. If it's post-impressionist like the Gauguin s we've been looking at lately (not his "nekked" ones, by the way) then Dan moans and grumbles about how awful it is and how he'll never narrate it, not ever. Isaac then chimes in that he likes them, actually. He thinks the colors are bright and happy.

Then we do a game of narrating the picture. This is really easy. Narrating is "telling". We take turns, starting with the littlest who wants to join and they stare at the picture for as long as they need and notice as much as possible and fix it in their brains. Then the picture is turned around and they tell back or "narrate" it in as much detail as possible. The idea is to learn to store the picture in your brain, not just for the moment, but as a piece of loveliness to enjoy later on too.

Little guys end up with remembering just the most basic shapes or colors, but older ones get really into it and compete to remember the most. They love it if Nathan or I take a turn too. It teaches observation, organization of thought, and keeps 'em sitting in their chairs while eating to boot.

Afterward the print goes back on the little table by the door where it's easy to see every day. All of this is always kept light and fun. Our guys are little so there's no discussion of the technical parts of technique or much about the artist himself other than finding where he was born on a map, pointing out the approximate date on the timeline, and stating the general style or era of each work.

Other ideas:

There are plenty of other ways you could do something like this. Kim over at Preschoolers and Peace has written about a set of Masterpiece Cards that you could use similarly. Some Ambleside moms don't bother framing the art and just show a new print once a week or so. Others use one of those beautiful coffee-table art books found on the bargain tables at Borders Books. Netflix has quite a few history-channel style videos on different artists, and many are on their instant-view option. YouTube can also turn up some of these. The main idea is just to make beauty in art something to look at and think about regularly. And of course, to have fun while doing it.

For more on picture study at Ambleside:

-Scroll to the bottom of the Artist Schedule at Ambleside and read "Wendi's notes on Picture Study With Charlotte Mason". She is thorough and concise and also includes these references for reading about picture study in Mason's books: (Some refer directly to picture study, others talk about the more general idea of presenting great ideas to children etc.)

To go to the source - and you should go to the source - please see Charlotte Mason's own books, in particular:
Vol 1 pg 131
Vol 2 pg 262
Vol 3 pg 81, 160
Vol 4 pg 41, 103
Vol 5 pg 1, 233-235, 314-315
Vol 6 pg 59, 213-214
-Wendi Capehart

-Do visit the Frequently Asked Questions section under "Fine Arts".

-See Art and Literature in the Parents' Union School, an article written by a former CM student and published in her 1923 Parent's Review magazine.

-Or this description in Picture Talks, from the same magazine.

Composer Study: Madama Butterfly

2010-02-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

Just closed round three of our opera composer study with Puccini's Madama Butterfly, and again, it was something we probably never would have picked out at the video store to rent otherwise, but ended up enjoying alot. And yes, the boys too.

Now Madama Butterfly is another tragic story aimed at an adult audience, so we showed only the happier first half to the little guys. The opera is based on an 1887 semi-autobiographical novel by Pierre Loti called Madame Chrysanthème and takes place in Nagasaki in the 1890s. And as always, the score sung in Italian with English subtitles and read aloud by mom can be toned down as needed.

Puccini's opera tells the story of Pinkerton, an American Naval Officer who is about to marry Butterfly, a young Japanese girl who loves him deeply. Unfortunately, we find out as he sings the opening and "Atto Primo, E Soffitto...E Pareti..." that Pinkerton has made a habit of marrying a new wife in many of the different places he is stationed and looks forward to the day when he will marry a "proper American bride". Poor unaware Butterfly.

They marry and are happy for a short time until Pinkerton must leave. Butterfly meanwhile has a son and waits hopefully for his return for three years. It is of this that she sings in the haunting "Un Bel Di Vedremo".

Eventually Pinkerton does return, but it is with a new wife - an American one. When he hears of Butterfly's faithfulness and learns of his son he is remorseful but can do nothing. He and his new wife ask to be allowed to at least raise Butterfly's son, which she reluctantly agrees to. The opera then ends with the heartbroken Butterfly walking behind a screen and ending her life with her father's knife after reading the knife's inscription, "Who cannot live with honor must die with honor." Very sad, and not really a plot for early elementary kids. But a beautiful opera nonetheless.

Despite the editing and unhappy plot, Dan and Noah seemed to enjoy Madama Butterfly almost as much as Aida. They liked the Japanese sets and costuming in the Domingo-Freni version we watched, and later that week were excited to spot real kimonos, Japanese tea sets, and decorative swords at a completely coincidental visit to the home of a friend who had been born in Japan.

In fact, all through the week other Japan-related connections kept turning up. Other friends had been stationed in Japan and their older, much-admired-by-our-boys son turned out to be able to count in Japanese and speak a few words. Then Sunday we picked up Noah from Awanas and he was excited to tell about a friend who, knew some writing in Japanese, though now I'm kind of hoping he didn't go around asking everyone with dark glossy hair if they were, "from Japanese like Madame Butterfly". We did a little talking about asking questions about family history tactfully. But now both boys are very interested in all things Japanese and would like to know when we will be beginning Japanese as a foreign language for them. Yikes! Fascinating as it would be, that will have to happen just about the time they enroll in college, I think.

As for the musical style of Puccini's opera here, I hardly feel qualified to write since this is only the fourth opera I've ever heard, and have never studied the genre at all. That being said, musically Madama Butterfly is my favorite opera so far. And I may be totally off in this, but Puccini's style reminded me very much of the modern Andrew Lloyd Webber (Phantom of the Opera, and may more musicals) in several places. Similar energy and haunting chords. It is very emotional and beautiful. If you've ever enjoyed Webber's scores and not tried opera, Puccini's operas might be worth watching too.

So pressing onwards, the next two weeks will be covering Puccini's Tosca, per our opera-advising-friend Mac's suggestion. Thank goodness for iTunes, Netflix, and Youtube making these so easy to find and watch!

Original Poster for Madama Butterfly by Aldolfo Hohenstein (1854-1928) and is now in the public domain. Found at Wikipedia.

Gaylord Book Jacket Covers

2010-02-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

We may need an intervention. Our first order of plastic book covers from Gaylord recently arrived and I can't stop covering books!

This order should have gone in a long time ago. As you may have noticed, books are a way of life around here and now that we are homeschooling they are just pouring in. But a key part of keeping things affordable is reusing these classics each year, and careful as they are, six boys put a lot of mileage on paper based products.

Up till now we've been reinforcing dust jacket edges and paperbacks with 2" clear tape, and it has helped a lot. But this is time consuming, and really doesn't protect a good part of the cover. Plus you risk really ugly books down the road when the adhesive gives out.

So this Fall I finally got around to sending in an order for the stuff the libraries use, and boy has it been worth it! I chose the 2.5 mil Polypropylene 300 foot roll in a tall size and am folding it to fit as needed. A roll of filament tape keeps the dust jacket on the book where it belongs, and a bone folder isn't really necessary, but does make you feel nice and official, and it really does make the job easier.

Now older copies now have their beautiful (fragile!) covers strengthened and protected, new books will stay looking fresher, and I don't have to worry so much over interested hands that wear a little dirt. What a difference! The books just look so much better there on the shelves in their shiny new suits!

It's been a month now since that box arrived, and since the school books for this year are sadly done, I'm now prowling the other shelves and my husband's foot-well for anything else that might need a cover. This is just way too much fun. I just ... can't ... stop!

The Man Who Was Thursday, A Nightmare.

2010-02-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

Just finished another great Librivox book. The Man Who Was Thursday, A Nightmare by G. K. Chesterton reads like a cross between P. G. Wodehouse comedy and Agatha Christie mystery, but ties up with a surprisingly deep theological finish. Well, surprising for a mystery genre book, not so surprising considering the author.

The Man Who Was Thursday is the story of a turn of the century British policeman who stumbles on a ring of anarchists and sets out to investigate. In the process he is mistakenly voted into a position as "Thursday" a member of their inner ring of conspirators. Or so he thinks.

The plot is filled with the unexpected and is entertaining yet thought provoking. A well spent couple days listening to this one.

The more I read of Chesterton, the more I admire the man.

Librivox Link: The Man Who Was Thursday, A Nightmare.
Wikipedia on The Man Who Was Thursday, A Nightmare.

So how on earth do you get school done with all those little ones?

2010-02-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

Lately there have been a number of emails from friends and blog readers about what homeschool looks like for our family right now. Come on you guys ... you think the logistics of a school with six students and an average age of about three might be interesting? :)

Well, I love hearing how others make things happen too, so as long as you promise not to assume things are always smooth and as scheduled, I'll share. Do keep in mind that this is how our day is going right now. It is tweaked from time to time depending on whether we have a lot of outings one week, and the personality, current stage, and needs of the baby. Homeschooling takes a bit of juggling, but I really love it's flexibility.

How the days go right now:

The nice thing about homeschooling right now is that we only have a couple learning formally. This year we only have a seven year old in Year Two of Ambleside Online and a five year old in Year Zero. Add to that four in the younger set. Lotta action going on there, but I've found attitudes and energy are at their best in the early morning so we work really hard then and try to keep the afternoon more relaxed. No two days are the same, but here's how things tend to run if all goes well:

5:15 am - Nathan and I are up. Yes, it's brutally early, and I'd rather sleep in, but this is the only way I've found to keep things sane and smooth at this point in our lives. I get breakfast started and read the Bible a bit before waking the masses. Laundry loads go in if it's a laundry day. I haven't been real good about getting up on time lately. Am working on that. :)

6:15 am - Boys up and hopefully make their beds. Nate and I diaper and dress the unpotty-trained two. Dan gives the boys' bathroom toilet a wipe down (yes, it's daily by necessity). Noah sets table. Isaac unloads dishwasher - needs lots of encouragement sometimes. Peter gets the Bible from the shelf and brings it to the table. John does his best to help but usually gets in the way. Christian sleeps or hangs out in the Pack-n-Play.

6:30 am - Breakfast. If we're not too late Nathan reads a half a chapter or so from wherever we're at in the kid-favorite sections of the Bible. Under threes don't have to stay, and I help keep the others' attention where it should be. Everyone clears their places.

7:00 am - Nathan to work. Dan clears table. Noah starts math with me while Baby eats and cuddles with me too. Preschool and toddler crowd free play inside with hotwheels, blocks, play-doh, or something similar. NOT all those options at once. Can be contained with baby gates to the room I'm in for supervision if too rowdy.

7:15 am - School starts for Dan. Dan joins us at the table and starts his math. Noah's should be done by now and if he still has energy we work on reading with Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. Afterward he copies two or three letters perfectly for his copywork. Hopefully the little guys are still playing fairly well inside.

7:45 am - Dan does his copywork of writing out the current verse he's learning in Awanas or from an interesting passage from his lessons. I read one of our "kindergarten stories" (the very best of our picture books like Beatrix Potter, Robert McCloskey, or Mother Goose.) to Noah and the littles.

8:00 am - Noah is done with sit-down school for the morning and is free to play. Usually the boys all head out to the back yard to dig in the dirt, ride bikes, or dress up like Romans. Dan and I read one of his two longer subjects together (twenty-minute passages of History, Literature, or Religion).

8:30 am - Dan narrates back his summary of the subject and then is too worn out to sit longer. He joins the horde outside and I load the dishwasher, switch over laundry loads, or tend to Christian. Christian often goes down for a nap now.

9:00 am - If the weather is good Dan and I read the second twenty-minute passage outside while the boys play. Dan narrates. Hopefully I haven't had to stop and help the little guys behave too often.

9:30 am - Dan, Noah, and anyone who's interested do a group science lesson two or three times a week. At elementary levels this is nature study loosely covering one section of Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study per term. We're finishing up trees just now. Lesson includes looking up the tree, sometimes online, discussing, observing it in person if it grows here, and maybe drawing it or doing a rubbing of it's leaves. This sounds like a lot, but it's mostly organized exploring of the boys' world.

Now if the cat happens to bring home a desert pocket mouse, dead snake, or we find a particularly interesting roadkill, of course we put off the assigned lesson and study that instead. Once Nathan brought home a dead dove in the grill of his work truck. While I'd never kill something just to learn about it, there's no point in wasting what's available. It's easy, relevant, and delightfully nasty. They love it. So that's how we do science.

10:00 am - Dan goes off by himself for fifteen minutes of reading an "easy reader" book like Frog and Toad. If he has trouble focusing he does this aloud to me where ever I'm parked with baby Christian, laundry, or dishes. He'd rather read on his own. Little boys are getting rumbly and often need me nearby while they play to keep things civil. Directing them to a particular activity helps sometimes. So does having each of them choose an activity of their own and having them play by themselves in different rooms.

10:30 am - Dan does five minutes with the Berlitz German "flashcards" on the computer. Afterward he has free play with the rest of the boys while I tend to John or Christian and clean up math blocks and loose pencils. Sit-down school can be done at this point if needed. I keep our assignments on a weekly list with a minimum to hit each day, but if we're on a roll we might get another one in here and have a freer Friday.

11:00 am - Lunchtime. Usually something easy like sandwiches. Little guys are cranky and ready for naps so quick is good. While boys are finishing up eating I read aloud one poem from Dan's current Ambleside Year Two Poet. Every other Monday we put a new art print into the Picture Study frame to look at and narrate. Everyone but John clears his place.

11:30 am - Nap-time for anybody under five. And no, they don't always want to sleep. Every family is different, but in ours I've found that little guys without naps have way more tantrums and aren't much fun to have around, so down they go.

If we stick to a routine and head for bed right after lunch without anyone having a chance to race around the house and get riled up again, they usually fall asleep fairly quickly. Every couple months someone, usually whoever is three or four, decides they'd rather not nap and we have a week or two of needing to sit near his doorway to return him to bed until the routine is back in place, but usually they settle down within fifteen minutes.

At this point the older boys and I could use a few quiet moments too, so Dan and Noah each choose a place where they can be alone with some good toys or maybe outside, and we all have forty-five minutes or so of quiet alone time. This is when I get caught up on my projects: reading, phone calls, appointment making, blogging, etc. Afterwards is a good time to finish any left over school for Dan and play Battleship, Checkers, or a puzzle with Dan and Noah.

2:00 pm - Everybody has woken up and is hopefully not too grumpy. Big boys are usually back outside tearing around. This is a good time for cuddling Christian, Peter, and/or John, in the rocker with a picture book or three. And yes you can rock three at once if you hold baby and the two preschoolers perch on an arm each. It works, but they have to be good balancers.

3:00 pm - When on top of the day, this is a good time for me to end all school and housecleaning type work and just be present for the boys. It also is a good time to do a quick straightening of the house. This is more of a clearing of the surfaces, we're not talking dusting or windows or anything. I put on fun music - Newsboys or TobyMac are current favorites - and assign the bigger three boys an area each to tidy. They need a lot of redirecting to finish, but as long as the resident one year old hasn't been left to empty shelves it can be done in fifteen minutes. Then it's nice to have a fruit or cracker or tea snack. Afterwards I try to just play with whoever isn't already busy on his own. Hide and Seek, catch with baseballs outside, or Candyland are happening alot lately.

4:15 pm ish - Time to get dinner going. I cook simply right now. No meals that take more than thirty to forty minutes to prepare. Often whoever has been the most grouchy gets to come in and perch on the counter next to me or chop veggies to help. It's fun for me to have just one or two on their own and also goes a long way to ironing out grouchy hearts.

5:00 pm ish - Nathan is home and playing manly games with the boys. They are getting to where I'm afraid to do much wrestling with them, and Dad is the only one who can throw straight or is willing to get out the airsoft gun for target practice so his arrival is the beginning of fun time.

5:30 pm ish - Dinner. The hardest part is getting last the little guys served before the first ones have finished. They are boys though; manners are a work in progress. Afterward, before kids over three leave the table we like to read aloud ten to twenty verses from Proverbs or Psalms. Sometimes we are working on memorizing a Scripture passage by reading it aloud daily until we all know it. This is a very informal time with a lot more teaching of how to sit still and listen than perfect attention right now. Then everybody clears his own place to the dishwasher or is reminded to come back and take care of it. Dan finishes clearing and wiping the table.

6:00 pm - Free time as a family. Might just be the kids playing whatever they want while Nathan and I clean up from dinner and talk, or we might go outside and play catch or hockey or watch the boys ride bikes out front. Sometimes we watch a movie with popcorn. When there's enough light and the weather's good it's nice to leash up the dogs and go for a walk together. This goes on until the little ones are too tired to be kind or we hit bedtime.

7:30 pm - Bedtime. Baby Christian usually needs me by now so I put him in his pajamas and work on getting him fed and put to bed while Nathan tackles the bigger boys. Everyone under six has to have a witness for tooth brushing and flossing so usually Nathan takes everyone into the bathroom at the same time and only releases ones who are done. This also cuts down on fun and games like the endlessly funny putting of clear hand soap on a brothers' toothbrush.

Eventually everyone is finished and clean and Nathan reads a picture book to the younger set and then everyone heads to bed. After they are tucked in and kissed multiple times and given their sippy cups of water, Nathan sits in the hallway and reads a chapter from our Bible Story book, and then if there's time, a chapter or so from a book he's reading to the bigger boys. Right now we're finishing The Hobbit. While he reads he's able to keep an eye on the boys as they settle in and make sure nobody sneaks out of bed for party-time. By the end of the twenty minutes of reading or so, usually everyone but Dan and Isaac are asleep, and they don't take much longer after that.

8:30 pm - Hopefully everyone is down, though Christian may still be up and playing quietly. Nathan and I finish up settling the house for the evening - we may wrap up projects, watch a movie, or read aloud from a book together. Nathan's been putting in a lot of time studying for an exam for work coming up. But mostly it's just nice to finally have a bit of quiet together.

So that's our day right now. Or what I'd like our day to look like at least. It's constantly changing, which I think is healthy. A schedule is not a good master, so if other things come up we go with them instead, but at least this gives me a rough idea of when things should happen.

So how about you - ever found that breaking your day into time slots like this helps get you through a particularly busy time of life? Or maybe this is just what happens in a home where two firstborns marry. :)

Photo: Christian Earl, five months old - what a sweetie!

Winter Stargazing

2010-02-08T06:00:00.001-08:00

Up till now I've always been able to consistently name two constellations: the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper. Oh, and the belt of Orion, though it can't really count because I've never been able to figure out the rest of him. My husband is better, and my father-in-law is awesome - he has a telescope bigger than a couple of my boys rolled together. But the constellations are always something I've wished I knew better. So, since I happen to know my kids' teacher - don't you love homeschool? - we're doing a bit of star study this term.

Tonight's Sky at Amazing Space website was what initially sparked our interest. It offers a short, beautifully produced video on the major constellations you can expect to see each month as well as how to find them and what time is best for viewing. Other interesting nighttime events are mentioned too, such as meteor showers or visible planets. Just enough information to be manageable for total novices.

After several months we were ready for a something a bit more. I'd been reading Corrie Ten Boom's Common Sense Not Needed and borrowed her idea of teaching constellations using white beans on a table top. To simplify the process I put together a kit with jars of white beans and dry white rice for the big and small stars, a blue velvet rectangle for the sky, and two sets of Michael Shepherd's free Northern hemisphere Star Deck and guide.

Here's how it's going right now. The cards are broken down by color to represent which are visible in each season. I picked Orion as the first constellation, since I knew where his belt was at least. Everyone gets a velvet cloth and a jar of stars. Then the biggest boys copy the flashcard while I read the paragraph on Orion and we go over the names of the bigger features. Turns out he's a hunter and has way more to his constellation than just that belt. Then the big boys clear their cloths and do time challenges to build the shape while I help the littler boys try it. After a couple rounds of that, even four year old Isaac knew the constellation well enough to build it by memory, ... and the beans were starting to get spilled so we packed everything up.

After dinner everyone showed Daddy what they'd learned and headed outside to see the real Orion. And it was amazing how clearly he showed up. Just knowing what to look for makes all the difference. So far we've done a couple per week and covered Orion, Lepus the hare, Canis Major the great dog, and Canis Minor the lesser dog. The plan is to work our way outward from Orion to as many of the other main Winter constellations as possible, though I'm not committing to waking anyone in the wee hours just yet.

It really has been fun to admire God's beautiful nighttime handiwork this way.

Missionary Biographies for Early Elementary Read-Alouds

2010-02-06T06:00:00.001-08:00

This time I wondered whether any of you could help. A friend emailed recently asking for suggestions on a good missionary biography to read aloud with a four year old boy. And to be honest, I drew a blank. I love missionary stories but most of my favorites are written at an upper elementary to high school level. I suppose you could read them aloud to younger ones, but you'd have to scan ahead and possibly edit adult conflicts and challenges. For instance, our seven year old might be able to handle the thought of martyrdom, but it's a little much for my preschoolers.

The closest I could find to what she asked was our Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula, which tells the history of the protestant church in short, beautifully written chapters and is part of Ambleside's first through third year curriculum. Another thought was my old favorite, The Friendly Story Caravan which is a collection of stories of the early Quaker history in the United States. A Google search brought up Missionary Stories With the Millers as part of Sonlight's curriculum and with high reviews on Amazon, but I've never read it myself.

So ... any suggestions? What have you enjoyed with your kids?

Photo "The Jungles of Northampton 2" by Kaymoshusband.

Speaking of the oddness of children not knowing frost ...

2010-02-04T06:00:00.001-08:00

Go on, ask your resident seven year old what season James Whitcomb Riley's poem, "When the Frost is On the Punkin" most likely refers to.

Mine had a blank look.

So then I repeated the title again really slowly with an emphasis on FROST.

Nothing.

Then he remembered that pumpkins show up at our place near Halloween and Thanksgiving and guessed Fall. But it still didn't make much sense. They're all still in shorts and we often have the air conditioner going in October.

Seriously, I'm surprised he didn't think of something like this pumpkin with frosting. This is a picture from flikr.com though. We weren't that creative this Fall.

Oh the things we take for granted as common knowledge.

Photos: Pumpkin with frost taken and shared by weaselmcfee, Pumpkin cake taken and shared by Pirate Johnny.

Composer Study: Rigoletto

2010-02-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

Well, we just had round two of composer study opera, and Rigoletto was not a stunning success. Just try asking Dan what he thought about it. Here's what he told me:

"I did not like it at ALL. That movie of Rigoletto gets zero points. The bad Duke [sung by Pavarotti] did a pretty good job of singing, but the other singing was awful. Why does everybody have to sing about loving? THAT I really don't like. There just wasn't enough fighting."
-Dan, age 7 1/2

So there you have it. Just not enough fighting. Oh dear. I don't know much about opera, but I bet the number centered around battles is pretty limited. We must have just gotten lucky with Aida. And it's too bad too, because Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto is the opera that brought us "La Donna e Mobile", and if you're like me and it doesn't ring a bell at first, just use that link over to YouTube and I'm sure you'll recognize it.

Now I liked Rigoletto a little more than the boys, but I agree, Aida was more fun. Perhaps this is because we are watching these as a family. Aida had very little objectionable in it while Rigoletto is decidedly more adult. It tells the story of the Duke of Milan, a man who seduces every pretty woman possible, and his jester Rigoletto, who up until the story begins sits by and laughs with everyone else. The father of one of these ruined daughters is mocked by Rigoletto and in turn curses the thoughtless jester. This frightens Rigoletto because he has a daughter himself who has been raised hidden from the Duke and he is suddenly forced to rethink his actions. Unknown to Rigoletto, the Duke has actually already met the daughter Gilda and of course the pattern repeats itself. Rigoletto takes revenge by hiring an assassin, but things do not turn out as he expects when Gilda, who truly loves the Duke despite his abominable character problems, sacrifices her life for him, leaving Rigoletto to mourn.

So, no this is not really a children's opera. We showed only parts of it and gave a simplified translation of the subtitles. As Dan noted, the watchable parts had a good deal of Gilda singing of her love for the Duke. And then, in the middle of Act II everything had to end rather quickly when John, made wild by dancing to the music, bounced off the arm of the sofa and bumped his head pretty soundly on the floor so the opera's later action was missed too. Poor guys. No wonder this isn't at the top of their list.

But it Verdi does write lovely music, and despite the grumbling, it is fun to know where La Donna e Mobile originated. So I vote it not a complete waste. See? There's a reason I'm doing opera right now while they're too young to object much. Could you see pulling it off with five teenage boys?

Next opera: Madame Butterfly, which both Wikipedia and our opera-advising friend Mac recommend be an excerpt-only version for the boys as well. We're listening ahead to iTunes versions of "Atto Primo, E Soffitto...E Pareti...", the opening piece (wait through the credits and the music will start) and the more familiar, should you listen to opera, "Un Bel Di Vedremo", from Act II, though these links are to excerpts from a Domingo-Freni version on YouTube.

Photo of Rigoletto movie from Amazon.com's version for sale here.

Happy Thrifting!

2010-02-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

Recent finds from our only used bookstore, the Salvation Army. Not too bad. Hard to beat $3 a bag. And couldn't believe the hardback Tales From Shakespeare. We use that one in first, second, and third grade. What a lovely copy. Oh, good books are one of my favorite things! (You're shocked, I know.)

Saturday at the Wind Caves

2010-02-01T06:00:00.001-08:00

This weekend we went on another short Anza Borrego hike with friends and I realized something surprising: I actually love the desert. Not necessarily everything about it - the 115 F Summer heat I could do without. But right now it's perfect. Maybe even more than that.

I've missed the Sierras and Sacramento so much the past five years that it never occured that something as stark and treeless as the Anza Borrego could become dear, but it has. I love that it is an adventure just to get anywhere. I love that the rocks all glitter in the sun from the mica inside. You can see for miles, and I love that even without the seclusion of a forest, you can feel more alone than anywhere else I've been. I love that there actually IS life and vegetation, only it is so odd or so tiny that you miss it unless you know what to watch for. I even love that it is really only accessible for a few months - it keeps you looking forward to Winter. I love that there is almost never mud.

"Almost" is the key word about mud there. We had an unheard of four days of rain last week and though things are mostly dried out, the dirt road to the Wind Cave trail-head was a lot different than the last time we came through. Apparantly when it rains in wide flat places like the Anza Borrego all the water drains into the low places creating flash flooding. Our dirt road went through a slot canyon, and from the looks of things, it got to be a river bed again last week.

The first clue was that the paved road was just missing where we pull off. Not damaged, not covered in debris, just missing. But other vehicles had been in and there was no standing water so we decided to risk it. We did make it through without getting that twelve-seater stuck, but my goodness there was a lot of loose sand - I did a bit more praying than usual for a daytrip! Nate and the boys loved it though.

See Peter's truck tires? That's about what the van looked like. On the outside too.

Never let good mud go to waste. Especially when hotwheels are present demanding jumps.

John had a dilemma. He had to choose between joining the big kids in racing cars down boulders into the mud and his dislike of dirt on his hands. Oh the struggle! In the end he caved to peer pressure just once and was horrified at the mess on his truck. It had to be cleaned and he was happy to watch the rest.

What a surprise to see the Ocotillo cacti green! Most of the year they are fierce grey thorn-sticks, but this time of year they look almost soft and are getting set to bloom.

Then there was lots of climbing. Climbing places up high ...

Higher ....

And even higher.

Even careful Peter made it up with Daddy.

Then there was going into places ...

... and going out of places.

And then everyone ending up together, all worn out but having had a great time. And much as I still miss where we grew up, I am truly glad we live close enough to come again soon!

Oh, isn't this what mothering should be?

2010-01-29T06:00:00.001-08:00

A generous man will prosper;
he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

-Proverbs 11:25

Such a lovely picture. Lovely in any part of life, but especially so between a mother and little child.

Only sometimes it isn't. Sometimes something ugly slips in and short-circuits the blessing. Oh, much too often. It whispers "no", and "I won't". It wants to stamp it's foot and run away. It prefers to look at the unpleasant and grumble. It's name is Self, and he can seem unbeatable.

But he isn't. There is a fortress he cannot enter. A cry to our God and Self shrinks visibly. Precious words reduce him further. Sometimes he has to be kicked howling from the room, but he can be made to go.

And after, such sweet times. A closeness with our Father. With our Jesus as we mirror his actions. Little feet cleaned. Cups of water offered. Small bodies cuddled. Warm, soft hair close against a cheek. And we are refreshed.

Heaven must be like moments like these. Beautiful, loving peace. Only with no dinner to tend. No end, ever.

But this is earth, and it has yet to be made new. Grace gives us these glimpses of God's rest. But we're not home yet. We must be patient. Self will whisper again, sometimes all day long, but we are never alone. The Comforter renews and shelters till our ability to see past Self returns. Then we pour out and receive again. And it is to His glory.

Smaug is discovered.

2010-01-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

Just a little update for the Tolkien loving members of the family. Dan received a copy of The Hobbit at Christmas and Nathan is reading it to the boys at bedtime. They LOVE it. So far Dan's favorite characters are the eagles and Gandalf. He was very nervous about the spiders but we made it through, and is beside himself to have finally met Smaug.

First-time readings of old favorites make up for an awful lot of toddler tantrums, don't they!

January Tinkering and a Really Cool Picture That Reminds Me of the Importance of Balance

2010-01-27T06:00:00.001-08:00

Well, I know real life is not always obvious from the orderly face of the blog, but things have been a little ragged around here lately. Not terrible exactly, since school and such are still getting done as they need to, but it's not been as smooth or as fun as it has at other times. And there's no good reason either. It's not the holidays, nobody's sick, and we're not even expecting and working with morning sickness right now. However things are still kinda dicey feeling around our place so the other night Nathan and I sat down to try to get things back in balance.

This kind of tweaking every now and then is helpful no matter where you are in life. But the larger our family grows, the more responsibilities I need to juggle successfully, and reevaluation of goals and how things get done is one of the best ways I know to iron out problem areas here at home. Talking it all out with Nathan keeps things logical, since sometimes my emotions get in the way and even very small things get blown out of proportion.

You know what I mean, right? Like finding the fifth puddle of pee next to the toilet in one day. It's gross, but not really that big of a deal normally. When things are out of order all over the house and schedule like they have been around here lately, those little things feel like great big huge ones. So since we were working on it anyways, I thought it might be worth sharing the not-so-polished side of making life with a bunch of littles work.

So here are what we, well, me really, since I'm home the most, will be focusing on:

1. I NEED to be waking up earlier.

I am not a morning person by choice, but I have learned that I am a much, much nicer mom with makeup and contacts on. It's just easier to have a good attitude when dressed for the day before it hits you with a messy diaper, you know?

I also really want to get back into reading my Bible on my own in the mornings. This hasn't been happening regularly since Christian was born. We read as a family, but I would like my own time too. This means that horrible alarm needs to be going off at 5:45 am. Every - single - day. Ugh. But I think it's worth it. Days begun with even ten quiet minutes alone reading God's words and talking with him are ALWAYS better.

2. Looking for things to praise in the boys.

Deliberately. And to be sure nobody falls through the cracks while getting this going, I'd like to try for catching each of them twice a day - morning and afternoon. Too often the day ends and it feels as if all that's been done is nagging and correction.

Of course, there's a good deal of correction needed and it will still be happening, but I want to be able to point out the admirable more than the ugly. I know we will have both sorts in the day, but I can choose which to search for. Kind of like life, right? We choose what we focus on.

3. Meal manners need some major attention.

We have six boys, did I mention that? B urping at the table is pretty much conquered, but it's still far from lovely. And since I have to eat with them, maleness aside, we're going to be working on not talking with mouths full and not chewing with mouths open. And most likely the resulting cheerful nagging of each other that they're gonna be tempted to try.

4. We need to go back to having a few hard-stops in the day.

This has been better in the past, but in a home where work, school and play go on in the same building all day I've found that things go smoother when we have a few points in our schedule where everything comes to a complete stop. For us those are the three main meals where we eat together, and another around 3 pm for me.

It's that 3 pm one that's being overlooked currently. Now obviously, I'm not planning to sit with a book and do nothing the minute that clock ticks over, but it does mean that I get to stop homeschool assignments, working on laundry, worrying about vacuuming, and I put on fast music and everyone does a sweep of the house and puts away toys and clutter. Really, it only takes fifteen minutes if you stay on top of things and it's such a treat to me to have clear surfaces.

Afterward we make tea or have a snack and then I can focus on just playing with the boys until Nathan gets home and it's time to start dinner. It's a very small thing, but sticking to this has made a world of difference in the "I'm-only-ever-home-and-working" feelings, and will be nice to get back to. It does mean I need to keep an eye on the clock and plan to make this happen though.

5. Scheduling in simple fun as a family.

Seems like when home all day there would be tons of time for walks and games and such, but often they just don't happen unless I plan them into the week. I'd like to go back to taking walks a couple times a week, either as a family or even just with a parent and a kid or two. All of us enjoy these but somehow got out of the habit with the combination of third-trimester pregnancy and Summer heat. It's still Winter now, but there's really not much time left before things heat up and walks become more of a free sauna activity. Must make the most of this lovely weather!

So these are what I'll be busy with the next couple of weeks or so. Most of the changes aren't too drastic and are things we've done before so it shouldn't take too long for things to shake out and have things back to normal again.

Any of the rest of you have things that make your days run more smoothly? Or maybe you've done some January tinkering of your own?

Photo entitled "Balancing Act 2.5" by Bitzcelt.

My Antonia

2010-01-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

I just can't get over what joy Librivox books are giving me right now! Chores like dishes and mopping just fly by with a new book on the i-pod. And if it's put on the speakers you get a great running commentary by the boys.

The latest story is My Antonia by Willa Cather. It's a fictional story of prairie immigrants from Bohemia, namely the girl Antonia, as told by family friend Jim. Antonia arrives in America as a girl and we follow the family's struggles to learn English and make their farm successful. The book is actually a series of five short books, each covering a section of Antonia's life.

Cather tells her story published in 1918 with a clean, simple style but includes tons of details about life so realistically that the story escapes the soft-focus romantic take so common in many pioneer stories. This story is believably gritty, interesting, and yet still inspiring.

Once again, I'm loving a selection I doubt I would have ever chosen or made time for otherwise. Hooray for audiobooks!

Free Librivox version of My Antonia

Yellow and Pink, by William Steig

2010-01-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

Link to Yellow and Pink at Amazon.com.

It is a wonderful thing to have a mother-in-law who loves books. It's an even better thing when she works at the library and watches the discards for the really good ones. We are very lucky.

In the latest round of book finds was a copy of Yellow and Pink. In the past I've not been a big fan of William Steig's children's books. Able's Island and Doctor De Soto are about mice and enjoyable, but often his stories get a little caustic in places. He's just never made my list of favorite authors. But Yellow and Pink is a whole 'nother story. It may very well make me a permanent William Steig fan.

Yellow and Pink is delightful. The illustrations are simple; done in monochrome with the only color in the two dolls' yellow and pink clothing. In it two wooden dolls marvel philosophically about their origin and intricacies while their fresh paint dries in the sun.

I do not know about Steig's personal beliefs about God, though one biography states that he was Jewish. But even young children laugh at the silliness of dolls supposing that maybe they just came into existence without a creator. It is a charming echo of the logic of reality and the origin of human life. Nothing comes from nothing. We have a Creator.

Yellow and Pink is a new favorite at our place. Thanks, Grandma Alterton!

Holtville Snow

2010-01-21T09:21:00.000-08:00

Peter was excited to see what looked like snow out on the driveway the other day. It turned out to be the mineral salts that form after a puddle dries up, but the effect was still lovely.

Poor kids. They haven't even ever seen frost on the lawn. What a place.

A great big welcome to the blogging world to my cousin Claire!

2010-01-20T12:13:00.000-08:00

Just noticed that my dear cousin Claire has started a blog of her own! She grew up in the same neighborhood as my family and spent some fun times with us as kids. Now she has two sweet little sons who have birthdays close to our two youngest, and it's been a joy getting to know her even better through shared pregnancies. Do drop by and leave her a comment at Building My House.

Looking forward to your posts, Claire!

Photo: Day 2/365 - Pen and Paper by Athena, used by permission.

Composer Study: Aida

2010-01-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

I may be the only mom with indignant preschoolers over Verdi's opera Aida. See, due to the long hike at the Salton Sea a couple days back, they were too cranky to stay up and see all of the opera with the rest of us and were put to bed at the end of act two. The next morning they were demanding to watch the end after schoolwork was over. They wanted to see how things turn out.

Now before you get too impressed with the boys watching opera, do realize that this is the first one. Our composer study this term is on classic operas and we'll be covering six of them. A new one every other week. None of us, not even Nathan or me, have ever known much about opera at all. I think I saw one with a friend in college. Sung in English. Aida is in full-blown Italian. There are subtitles available, but with this many littles, I'll be doing the reading for them. We'll see how excited they still are by Summer.

And do keep in mind that Aida is set in Egypt. Happy coincidence that the boys are on an Egypt kick right now. It also centers on battles (sadly not included in the opera) between Egypt and Ethiopia, and has drama involving a jealous princess, spooky singing priests, spies, and despite being a love story remains boy-friendly with hardly a kiss to be seen. True, the lovers end their lives together sealed in a tomb, but since it's in Italian a lot of the creepiness of that is lost. And in this version from Netflix Radames is sung by Pavarotti in his prime. That in itself makes up for a lot too. As does the Triumphal March complete with swords, chariots, and captives. Did I mention the cool swords and military costumes? Lots of food for imagination. Could be a lot worse.

After the viewing, Dan did mention that Aida might be improved if everyone sang in English, and Noah was NOT impressed with the dancing Egyptian man's miniskirt inspired costume, Peter can't pronounce the title and keeps asking about "Hi-dida", and several boys have put out ideas for future Egyptian soldier dress-up. I make no promises.

But overall this didn't go too badly: every single boy over three sat through this two-and-a-half hour opera. Or would have, if they hadn't been sent to bed, which was way more than I'd hoped. Not too bad at all.

Bring on Rigoletto.

Three-year-old's Word of the Day: Conjunctiva

2010-01-19T08:55:00.000-08:00

Chanted in a deep, South Sea cannibal monotone:

Con-junc-TIV-a. Con-junc-TIV-a. Con-junc-TIV-a.

Over and over and over while tearing down the hall after his little brother.

Yup.

Dull and quiet around here. That's what it is. Just dull and quiet. (grin)

Dear Peter.

Sonny Bono Wildlife Refuge, Salton Sea

2010-01-19T07:29:00.000-08:00

Just a couple shots from yesterday's homeschool group field trip to the Sonny Bono Wildlife Refuge at the Salton Sea, CA. Apparently quite a few species of birds make our desert their winter home. Kind of like the dear Canadians.

The day was overcast and even threatened (promised?) rain and was perfect for a hike along the southern shore of the Salton Sea, followed by a picnic lunch and birdhouse and birdfeeder projects. Showers didn't come until later that evening thank goodness, and it was a really fun day!

Due to Martin Luther King Day, Nathan had the day off and was able to come along too. (Which is why I actually made it into a few pictures this time.) He kept saying how much it reminded him of his own long, kinda-boring-at-the-time, but-now-really--apperciated birdwatching fieldtrips. So many of our school activites he has to miss - I loved being able to do this one together.

A marsh just south of the Sea. Not many birds were seen here, though there are several fairly rare species known to live in the reeds. Would have been great to spot a few, but I did have six active guys to watch too.

Peter, Noah and Isaac with me (and baby Christian on my back) listening to the ranger explain the different things along the way.

This was the first time we'd ever seen the Salton Sea other than through a car window. What a stark landscape, especially in this greyish light. The rocks all along the way were crusted with thick layers of salt minerals, almost like what you would expect to see hanging from a cave. Very interesting.

Dan hiked the whole way with his new canteen from Grandma M. He was interested in the sharp, shiny black rocks scattered all over. Obsidian, perhaps? It was sharp enough that a splinter sliced Isaac's finger slightly.

This is the peak of the little hill you can see in the first picture of the Sea above. The boys charged ahead while I puffed trying to keep up. There is no glory in arriving second, of course.

Peter and Isaac.

The whole group. It was a good turn out. A few families couldn't make it, but it was a good sample of the Desert Valley Christian Homeschoolers. There we are in the middle-left. Except Nathan, who is behind the camera.

Everyone made it back to the ranger station and even three year old Peter only needed a little carrying at the end. Here Nathan helps Peter, Isaac, Dan, and Noah assemble a wooden birdhouse. Other stations offered simpler milk carton versions, wire fruit feeders, and nesting material holders along with lessons on the birds who might use them.

Christian wished he could hold the hammer, or taste it more likely, but settled for a good view and smiles.

And John was just thrilled to finally escape the backpack. He adopted one of the fruit feeders as his own and insisted on carrying it all the way to the car and the whole way home. Now to convince him that it really should be hung OUTside.

Friends came along home to play and the day ended with one of the three days of rain we get out here per year. It was a very fun day.

Umm, it's a little too late.

2010-01-04T20:15:00.001-08:00

"Mama, may I have a muffin ... without asking you?"

-Three year old Peter, hoping to avoid his squash at dinner.

Well, Christmas was lovely. A last minute bout with the flu led to delayed travel and celebration, but things worked out just fine in the end. It was wonderful to see our families, and there was even time to meet up with dear friends we hadn't seen in years. When we moved from Sacramento there were only three little ones, so there was a lot to catch up on!

We managed (short!) hikes at Effie Yeaw and the Yolo Causeway with the help of grandparents, aunts, and uncles, and the boys were thrilled with the honest-to-goodness rainfall. Our jackets have been worn for a whole week now, and with the drive in Stockton fog and a run to Nyack to play in the snow it feels like we have really experienced Winter this year.

And now we are back home. Weather is mild, and homeschool is back in swing. There is a mountain of laundry to put away, and there are new Nerf darts just about everywhere, but the house is slowly coming back into order and what a joy to have been with so many people we love.

I hope your holidays were as pleasant too!

Picture of Peter and Nathan at Rockville Park, CA November 2009.

Taking a break until January

2009-12-14T08:49:00.001-08:00

Well, Advent is here and we're having a lot of fun getting ready for Christmas, which means the blog will be on hold until sometime in January. Have a very blessed Jesus' birthday!

Photo by Brian Green, November 2009. Alterton Family, from left of picture to right: Daniel, Noah, Nathan holding Christian, Peter in front, Isaac, and Faith holding John.

Here, let me help you look at the camera ...

2009-12-12T09:21:00.001-08:00

Noah and Bill, his beloved kitty. December 2009.

A boy must have wings ....

2009-12-08T14:36:00.001-08:00

... if he is going to fly.

Sort of.

Echos of his Master Creator - I will never tire of these!

Photos of Daniel testing yet another wing concept, December, 2009, age seven.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

2009-11-24T20:44:00.000-08:00

Peter with leaf at the San Diego Zoo recently.

Creative Writing, five-year-old boy style:

2009-11-20T07:50:00.001-08:00

I just love little people lettering. Found this in a pile of Noah's drawings this week. He labeled the scorpion and crab all by himself.

As if bike jumps aren't exciting enough ...

2009-11-17T18:23:00.001-08:00

Try one with a Scottie.

Not OVER her - though that would be a neat trick.

No, this is a little game Ceilidh has figured out with the boys. She lies in wait and jumps aside at the last possible moment and then tears after the bike barking like a crazy thing. Sometimes all three boys on bikes, Peter on his trike, and John on foot, cycle for a turn on the jump. It's a stretch for Ceilidh to keep up with so many, but terriers are always up for a challenge.

Aside from the ruckus it's great: makes me laugh, gives the boys extra adrenaline, and the dog gets a workout without a walk.

Kinda nice when the "Kids are Work" and "Dogs are Work" clauses manage to cancel each other out every now and then.

His Father's Son:

2009-11-12T09:18:00.001-08:00

Daniel's new favorite drawing subject: Aircraft carriers.

Pictures we WON'T be sending out.

2009-11-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

Isaac, posing for pictures for you two Grandmas.
Calvin and Hobbes make so much more sense now.

Umm, we'll be doing a retake.

Messing About in Boats

2009-11-06T14:35:00.001-08:00

"Nice? It's the only thing," said the Water Rat solemnly,
as he leant forward in his stroke.
"Believe me, my young friend,
there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing about in boats."

-The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame

Having just begun The Wind in the Willows as a family for the first time, we thought an outing to nearby Lake Cuyamaca might be in order - complete with a bit of messing about in boats of course.

Nathan and the boys getting set to head out. (Hooray for life vests, say I.) The boys haven't been on boats much, except for Grandpa Metzger's rafts occasionally, so it was a big event. Such a beautiful, crisp day! Fall comes to the mountains here, at least.

See? Vests are such a nice thing. Apparently Dan and Noah were feeling very nautical and pulled out all their seafaring lingo for the occasion. Dan kept chuckling and stating that he hadn't quite gotten his sea-legs yet. They were all checking out the buoys and kept asking whether they might actually be bombs. I think they were hoping so, but the disappointment gave way to the joy of raising and lowering the two cement-filled coffee-can anchors.

Sweet Peter was cautious, as always, but loved the time with Daddy.

The guys stayed out quite a while just rowing about chasing sticks and exploring.

John, Christian, and I stayed behind and did some exploring of our own. We planned to feed the ducks, but it had to be done with the little ones safe on the table top due to belligerent geese. This was their first encounter with geese too, and they were very impressed.

John, who had a lovely time chucking rocks and making splashes, and who suddenly is looking so grown up!

And here is my own littlest man - three months old, and such a good traveler. Christian admired the scenery and John's antics from Mama's arms and the stroller, and must have had a good time since he kept flashing his new little smiles.

A picnic afterwards.

And even the blessing of beautiful color in the changing oak leaves!

The joy of pretend.

2009-11-01T09:31:00.001-08:00

Daniel

Peter, Isaac, Dan, and Noah

Isaac and Peter

Noah

John

Peter, Isaac, Christian, Dan, John, and Noah.

Dan playing Roman hockey.

Fun With Herps

2009-10-29T14:07:00.000-07:00

Herps, NOT herpes. Big difference.

Snakes belong to the family of herpatons, did you know that? Just looked it up in Wikipedia and turns out it means "creeping animal" (creep-y animal?) in Greek. Cool, huh?

And since they, and our dear Karl-the-long-and-lovely, spend most of their time resting, you've got to be creative in your play:

Loads of fun. Just place figurine, and it's like a drama still-life.

Hey - we have boys. We're easily entertained.

But that was last night. Didn't seem to phase Karl much, but look at him this morning:

Family Quick Takes - October 2009

2009-10-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

Trying out a new idea of occasionally journaling a brief snapshot of life around here. The days pass so quickly right now and it would be nice to have some of these details to remember later on. It's mostly for record, and keeping the Grandmas up to date, of course.

In general

It's Fall. I love this time of year. Things cool down and the house is full of fresh air since the windows can be opened at night again. Baking is fun and pumpkin pie and gingerbread finally match the season. Holidays are coming, but our schedule is still relaxed. It's a lovely time.

As always, this time of being a couple months out after a new little guy's arrival is a fun one. After eight years of adding to the family on and off, I'm really learning that there are times to dig in and just enjoy the boys and the simple things of life; early and late pregnancy for me. And then there are others, such as mid-pregnancy or between babies when a fuller, faster pace can happen. Both are great times so long as I choose to be content with the one we are currently in.

Understanding this has really changed my feelings towards the inconveniences of childbearing. Pregnancy is hard work, but it is temporary, and compared to the wonder and honor in helping God create a precious new life, it is such a small sacrifice. This principle never changes, does it?

Contentment is choosing to delight in the possible.

It's a lesson that is not easy for me, but so important.

So right now my energy is back and projects are in swing. The beloved sewing machine has come out of hibernation, and I'm finally feeling brave enough to tackle all those clutter piles ignored all through the last trimester of pregnancy. First on the list is an inventory and organizing of the boys' seasonal and outgrown clothing. It's a bear of a project, but my mind will be much calmer afterwards.

We are still hoping for a move back to Sacramento within the next year. Nathan enjoys engineering with Cal-Trans, but our hearts would prefer to raise the boys closer to family. It seems that God is allowing us to wait for the time being though since Cal-Trans initiated a hiring-freeze six months ago and until it is lifted, a transfer is not possible. We are very grateful that Nathan's work is in a field he likes and appears to be fairly secure. So we are practicing patience.

In the meantime, we are so blessed where we are in the Imperial Valley. We attend a wonderful church that has become a second family. The local homeschool group is active and planning park days, parties, and field trips. We now have an Old Navy AND a Michaels within fifteen minutes of home. In the same state, no less! And with the cooler weather and now that Christian has arrived, we're looking forward to bike rides, day trips, and hikes in the local desert and San Diego. God has been so good to us.

... And here it is lunchtime and not a word about the boys. Maybe "quick" is not the best title. I'll do better next time, but shoot, guys. How do you keep updates on eight people brief?

You know, I'm just not buying them any more.

2009-10-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

At least not until we have someone to mother the poor dollies.

This is what greeted me by the dress up box the other day. The boys aren't being macabre, they just play with dolls a little ... differently. Apparently it's way cooler to use the babies as puzzles than as offspring.

Oh dear.

I think I'm gonna quit trying the gender-neutral toy thing here and save the dolls for a daughter. Or niece. Or granddaughter. Point is, the boys couldn't love their real baby more, but they just don't see the point of the plastic ones.

Fall Color

2009-10-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Did you know there are Fall "Color Watch" websites? I didn't, though what a blessing! Got to love the internet.

Growing up, Fall never seemed official until the call from my Mom's parents to report that the Grass Valley, CA Maples were turning fiery red and orange. As weather cooled they would keep us posted until the big trees reached their peak of color, and then Mom would load all four of us up and drive to the mountains for a visit. And that was the beginning of Fall for me: a beautiful afternoon of tea, the smell of a wood fire in the old stove, and Papa and Nana's little house on the hill with it's wall of windows all lit up with God's seasonal watercolor.

It's too far to drive to the Sierras this year, but it's where my heart is. And I'm thinking a drive up to our own foothills here in Julian again to see what God is doing with the trees there may be in order.

Have a blessed Fall!

Websites keeping an eye on Fall Color:

Fall Color in California - Looks like there might even be some beauty down here in Southern CA.
California State Parks with Fall Color - wouldn't Yosemite be lovely this time of year?
Total Escape - a detailed listing of areas in CA with color and activities to do in each place.

Photograph of bright red maple leaves by Sean Dreilinger.

Picture study over lunch.

2009-10-21T12:11:00.000-07:00

The windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede, c. 1670

I had no idea art study could be this easy. We're following along with Ambleside's 2001-2002 art schedule and just put a new picture in the frame by Jacob Isaacksz. van Ruisdael . As I've shared before, we look at it for a few minutes over lunch and then it stays on a table by the front door for about two weeks. After that first day of looking at a new painting I have the boys narrate it back to me as best they can to stick it into their memories more firmly. Little guys get to look at the picture while describing, but Dan and Noah turn it around and go from memory. It's gotten to be a favorite part of school lately, and even the little guys enjoy getting into their descriptions:

Two year old Peter:

"I see water. And boats. And sky."

Five year old Noah:

"There is a windmill, but it is not going. A man is standing up high on it. There are houses and trees by it. There is also water, with boats sailing. It is really cloudy."

Seven year old Dan:

"This picture is of a windmill by the water. The sky is dark with clouds that make me think it might be about to rain. The water is in the bottom side of the picture and is greyish with choppy waves. There are five boats, one with a sail missing. Along the edge of the water is a wooden fence thing, and there are rushes also. Three girls are walking by the water. Behind them there is a house I think, and maybe other houses. There is also a cathedral and a funny gate in a wall. The windmill is big and round. There are little windows in it and four props that spin. There are trees all around the bottom. It is a nice picture. I like it."

(Don't you love the way families have people at different developmental levels?)

It's that easy. And it's such a kick to be out at Michaels and have the three year old recognize a Van Gogh in the prints.

To reach eighteen with BOTH eyes. Is it asking too much?

2009-10-18T22:06:00.001-07:00

After hearing about the boys' jousting fun, and my squelching of it, Nathan felt sorry for them. He helped Noah rig a target in a tree out front at just the right height for a boy on a dirt bike. They pedal just as fast as ever they can, hunched over the bars and feeling mighty. Sometimes the bamboo lance tangles in the ropes, yanking the boy to a quick seat in the dust while the bike sails on, but you know boys ... glory covers the fallen even a little more thickly.

And so now we are all much happier. They can poke that thing to their hearts' content. And I can watch with out flinching. Almost.

Wisdom of the Day: Jousting

2009-10-15T07:01:00.000-07:00

I was mistaken.
Just because a boy does not have:

-knighthood
-a horse
-a lance
-a list field
-armor (!)

...does not mean he cannot tilt. Bikes and a wooden pole across the handlebars work amazingly well. And are now forbidden. Mean ol' Mom.

Showing clips of the tournaments in A Knight's Tale along with the chapter on Knights and the Days of Chivalry in A Child's History of the World may not be something we repeat.

Picture of jousting knight in a modern reenactment by the Knights of Avalon , by David Ball ,and used with permission from Wikipedia's article on Jousting.

The Advent of the Burp Cloth

2009-10-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

Well, we have a couple boys around here. And lately, meals have been accented by more than the lovely Shi-poopie song. We have entered the Age of the Belch.

It really started with our church Father's Day Olympics and a humiliating loss in the On-Command Burping contest. Nathan chose Dan as the most likely to perform but even with soda, he choked. Not literally of course, but it was pathetic. Then Aunt Grace heard about it and, bless her heart, offered some encouragement. And maybe some pointers. After four months of diligent practice I bet you can guess what dinner sounds like now. And I've ceased to be impressed.

What started out as a manly skill has become uncontrollable. They know they're not supposed to indulge and always excuse themselves afterwards but lets face it, those things are hard to get a handle on. But at some point these boys are gonna want to get a job. Or get married and finally bring me that daughter, and this kind of talent is not gonna help us at all. I needed a consequence that was immediate, easy to implement, and somewhat related to the offense. And last week we hit on it. Enter the Burp Cloth.

Here's how it works. Along with those cups, plates, and forks for meals Noah now sets a damp rag on the floor by my chair. The moment someone - Isaac - lets loose a beaut, he gets to drop to the floor and clean four tiles. It was fun at first but let me tell you, that floor got polished. And suddenly they've found that there is a time and a place for everything and the burp is indeed tameable.

I'm loving it. We learned a little self-control. Meals are still far from elegant, but they're a hair closer. And the floor is cleaner than it's been in a long time.

Picture of Isaac with my lovely mom, Grandma Metzger on her recent visit.

Promotion Day

2009-10-12T12:41:00.001-07:00

Baby Christian wriggled into a half-rolled over position twice during naps this weekend, so today I graduated him from his little basket. Now he's napping like a man in the Pack-n-Play. He looks so tiny in it!

Times like this are bittersweet, aren't they? I really do love seeing the babies grow, but his rolling-readiness today will be bike-riding tomorrow. And I suspect the rest goes even quicker. These are such precious months.

God bless you as you grow, dear Christian!

Maybe this is why John is such a live-wire.

2009-10-07T11:21:00.001-07:00

The boy was perched on the counter helping with sandwiches today. Look what I found:

Someone please explain "Shi-poopie".

2009-10-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

Having grown up on a healthy diet of musicals, Nate and I have started Netflix-ing old favorites for the boys. Can you guess which one we saw most recently?

I love The Music Man, but what were they thinking??? Didn't they realize what a phrase like that does to little boys?

Dan: "Hey, can someone please pass me the syrup?"
Isaac (Or Noah. Or Peter. Or all of them): "Sure ... (with a snicker) ... shi-poopie!"
All the rest of 'em: "Ooooh, he said shi-POOPie!" And then they fall down laughing.

It's instant wit. Tack it on to just about any sentence and young males are reduced to uncontrollable fits of laughter. Such cleverness. Such versatility. Truly, vocabulary to aspire to.

Only it's been two weeks, and the glory isn't fading. To them. I'd forgotten about that little song there at the end, but we'll be remembering it now for a looooong time.

Though I must say that two weeks of the cuteness of the two-year-old popping around corners with a deep and ponderous, "Baaallll-zac!!!" just about makes up for it.

Picture of 1962 The Music Man film poster found at Wikipedia

No, I have not been reading my children War of the Worlds.

2009-10-01T20:28:00.001-07:00

Kinda looks like it though, doesn't it?

Noah's tripod robot - may also have been inspired by a recent "Incredibles" viewing, come to think of it.

Ever since picking up this War of the Worlds copy at the thrift store the boys have been begging to hear the story. It's not happening till tenth grade, but the spacecraft there on the cover have sure got their interest.

To keep a reign on all the books we're collecting for homeschool I started placing a sticker on the spine of each with the grade number when it will be read. It was for my sanity really, but boy-like, the numbers are now a visible challenge. Kinda like their beloved computer game levels:

"Oooh - this one's a ... level TEN! Won't you PLEASE read it to me? Please? Just the first part maybe? Well, can you at least tell me the story?"

Trouble is more often than not Mama doesn't know the story. Yet. She was public schooled. Ask me about self-esteem. We covered that quite nicely. Just kidding. We did get a lot of good books in school. But it's a lot of fun seeing more little Alterton bibliophiles develop.

And besides, I guess even kids enjoy knowing what lies ahead.

According to Peter, baby Christian needs a sword.

2009-09-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

While changing Christian at church today two-year old Peter noticed the tag on the outside of the baby sling. It looks a bit like a belt loop. But to Peter, it was a sword holder. Can you just see it? Cruising down the aisle at the grocery store with a six week old and a tiny little sword?

Dear Baby!

2009-09-22T07:23:00.001-07:00

Little Christian is five weeks old now and just started smiling. So sweet - that little grin starts at his dimples but doesn't end till his arms are flapping and feet kick in happiness. Don't you just love how babies smile with their whole bodies?

What fun watercolor kits!

2009-09-17T15:30:00.000-07:00

I just ran across this post by Alice Cantrell at A Number of Things: Summer Painting. What a great idea! She shares how she has assembled little watercolor kits for her children to simplify painting, especially outdoors. I love the idea of using little mister spray bottles to moisten the paints, and have you ever seen anything as cool as that little waterbrush?

What fun - soon as the weather cools down we'll have to see about trying this with our nature study.

Similar ideas by Melissa Wiley at The Bonny Glen: Scenes from a Backyard.

Photo of watercolors by Sherry Han.

The Bard simplified. A lot.

2009-09-15T13:02:00.000-07:00

A seven year old boy summarizes the first eight pages of Lambs' Romeo and Juliet (Gets you just past the balcony scene):

"What I can remember is that there was a man Romeo who really loved a lady Juliet, only their families always fought. Even if only their servants met, they would want to fight with swords.

But Romeo thought she was pretty and loved her anyways. And then he sneaked to her house but it was night and she didn't know about it and he heard her talk. And then she talked some more. She talked a lot. And then he talked. And then he talked a lot. And then they talked again.

And that's all I can remember."

No mention of the fancy banquet where the two met. No description of Romeo's eloquent comparison of Juliet's beauty and the loveliness of the moon. Not even much on the implications of a Montague-Capulet love. To be fair, he didn't seem to mind the dialogue too much and we had only minimal eye rolling at the tender parts, but in his seven year old ears, it all boiled down to potential for battles and an awful lot of talking.

Oh well, what can you do? He's young yet. Wait 'till his own Juliet shows up. Betcha he makes it through that without the eye rolling. Though the five little brothers watching will probably make up for it.

Shhhh ...

2009-09-11T18:26:00.001-07:00

"You know, there is nothing like a good meal of things you like, to make everything seem just as it should."

-Thornton W. Burgess,
from The Burgess Animal Book for Children

Picture of sweet little Christian, two and half weeks old.

Words you'd rather not hear ...

2009-09-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

... with four excited boys peering under the refrigerator:

"Mom! Mom! We need a little help with the hissing thing!"

Yup. Made me more than a little nervous considering the cat killed and brought home a baby rattler last week. But thank goodness it was only this:

He's got most of it up under his fingers, but counting the legs, the bug pretty much covers his palm. Lets bring it a little closer so you can get a real good look:

It's a huge and incredibly ugly but harmless Root Borer beetle that Isaac had caught and carried inside. At two and a half inches long, it has the distinction of being one of the largest beetles in North America and looks like a cockroach on steroids. And yes, it hisses.

Eventually Isaac corralled his mouse-sized insect and as nobody but Dad took him up on offers to hold the "Tickly Hissing Thing", returned it to whence it came.

Whew! I'll say it once again: if you want adventure, just find yourself some small boys!

More lovely pictures and info on the Root Borer at What's that Bug.

Missing Grandma Metzger

2009-09-08T07:29:00.001-07:00

Sweet Grandma drove down for a long weekend to meet Christian and play with the boys. Such a treat to have visits with with family!

Thank you for the lovely time, Mom!

As you can see, your package arrived, Aunt Kerry:

2009-09-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

And no, I didn't claim the good one for myself - someone must have stashed it there for safe-keeping. Metal pans ... metal-like swords ... you can see the logic, right?

Wish you could have seen the boys' faces at the box of toy swords and shields and crowns. Mom is here visiting and we got a laugh out of your disclaimer there at the bottom.

Tell Joe and Chris thanks and that their swords battle on!

So blessed by family's visit!

2009-08-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures from last weekend's visit from Nathan's parents and sister Emily. Such troopers to land in San Diego each time and see signs pointing West to the beaches ... and then drive East and brave the desert heat. But we are always so glad to have you guys, and especially Aunt Emily this time!

Peter's newly learned balloon blowing - we keep telling him it'd go way faster if he were to take a new breath of outside air rather than just breathing the ones already in the balloon. Currently, it takes about ten minutes per inflation, but he's so proud afterwards!

A belated birthday celebration for Daniel.

What are brothers for if not for breaking in a big brother's new loot?

Grandpa Alterton and new little Christian.

Christian, cuddling with Grandma Alterton.

And Ceilidh not quite cuddling, but keeping a close eye on the baby
and right in the middle of everything, as usual.

Discovering the joy of a Wild Draw-four while learning UNO from Aunt Emily.

Christian enjoyed quieter times with Auntie Em too.

Thank you guys so much for making the trip down - it was such a lovely visit!