So Fun

We've been having a pretty fun time this spring/summer...tons of playing with friends, going to parks, eating popsicles, etc. Basically, the stuff kids 5 and under like to do!

Lillian (bottom left) just started standing. She began to teeter over, and Mac held her up with his feet so she could stand for the picture :)

A few weeks ago we had a lot of fun visiting our friends in North Carolina. In my opinion, (as Eugenia Lincoln would say), this was one of our most fun trips down to NC ever!

We had a nice picnic on the way down. What looks like a beautiful setting in this photo is actually a tiny patch of green we found on the side of a McDonald's. I'm glad the kids didn't complain and ask to go in McDonalds. (I think the sandwiches filled with Nutella helped with that one).

We managed to keep our days in NC fun, but not too overwhelming. One morning we walked/rode bikes to Pineywood Park. The best surprise about the park was a little section of woods that the kids called the "Beaver Dam." There were tons of logs and sticks that the kids would drag around, pretending to fix a beaver dam and a teepee. This was exactly how I spent my days all through elementary school, playing with my friends in the woods. It was really sweet seeing Mac and Corrie get to play like that. 

It was funny seeing the difference between Corrie and the boys. While the boys prided themselves on dragging the biggest logs possible, Corrie was happy "decorating" the teepee with little sticks. 

Taking a break to eat some snacks at the worksite

On saturday morning we all went to Duke Gardens and surprised the kids with Donuts!

There was some serious competition going on after the donut eating and tree climbing was done

We were pretty excited to see lots of baby ducks on our way back to the parking lot :)

I thought it would be neat to get a nice picture of me and the kids in front the blooming azaleas. The picture looked a little different in my head.

Mac and Calvin enjoyed playing legos together in the afternoons when the other kids were sleeping. The first day they built a "kid park" together. They must have spent at least an hour working on it together and coming up with ideas to make the park really fun for kids. :)

One afternoon I watched the kids while Kelly tutored. Luke sat in his chair eating his snack for at least a half hour...maybe even an hour. That's quite a difference from what I am used to with Davey! 

He started talking to me about his dried fruit, and I wish you could hear his tiny little voice! I tried to capture it on video, but of course he pretty much stopped talking when I brought the phone out. 

Another neat blessing from the trip was getting to talk about homeschooling stuff with Kelly and joining their group on a little field trip the last day we were there. The Lord knew it was just the right time for us to have a visit like this one.

The kids drawing pictures of the bugs they collected:

Learning about water flow by eating oranges and sailing the "orange peel boats" down the river:

For the past year, I have been "trying" to homeschool Mac and Corrie for preschool. By "trying," I mean I've been pretty much doing nothing and feeling overwhelmed and guilt-ridden about it all. It has felt like a heavy burden that I have had no desire to carry. I would say maybe Mac and Corrie just weren't ready for it yet, but the truth is that I just wasn't ready for it yet.

For the past few months though, I have been sensing something subtle happening in me, little by little. I have been realizing more and more what God's calling on me as a mom looks like, and that has in turn revealed ways that I do not want to obey His calling.

For example, I have been thinking about some of the things that I like to do instead of investing in the kids, which is directly related to the homeschooling question. I have been thinking that homeschooling Mac and Corrie is actually the best option for us next year, but I haven't wanted to make the sacrifice to give up doing some of the things I love to make time for school planning/prep.

I have been thinking about what this whole homeschooling issue has revealed about my heart. The real issue for me hasn't been whether or not I should homeschool. The real issue has been the state of my heart: is my heart oriented toward what is best for Ellis and the kids, or is it primarily focused on what I want? I knew the real answer to that one. So I have been wrestling with that for a little while and asking for God to change my heart and honor Him by putting Ellis and the kids first.

When we got to NC, I was so surprised by how God encouraged me. I did not realize that God had been changing my heart until Kelly and I started talking about school. I was soaking up everything Kelly was teaching me like a sponge. It was so interesting and exciting to me: I wanted to drink it all in! I have never felt like that in a conversation about homeschooling before. 

Since coming home, the kids and I have had a great time together doing activities and learning to read. I can't really put in words how wonderful this has been for me, and hopefully, for the kids too. Things just seem to come together easily, and the preparation work has seemed light and easy.

This past week we did a little unit about bees to coincide with the "bee" theme of the local library story time. (Mac is also really scared of bees right now, so I thought it would be good to spend some time talking and learning about them).

I would say we did more school this week than we've done in the whole previous year combined, and it has really felt like nothing.

I suppose on the surface it could look like God simply "fixed" the homeschool issue for us right now, but I believe the reason it has been so positive lately is because God affected the necessary change at the heart level in me. When the heart is right, the surface issues fall into godly places. I think those surface issues can look different and still be godly, and homeschooling might not always be the right option for us, but my prayer is that God will keep turning my heart toward Him and my family through it all. 

"As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!"

-Psalm 40:11

Lion's Tale Trail

A few weeks ago Ellis found a really neat trail for the kids. It was a .5 mile loop in the forest near our house called the "Lion's Tale Trail." A cute little lion named "Lop Ear" guided us along the path at various information posts throughout the trail. 

Ellis read to the kids at each stop, and they listened as "Lop Ear" told them about the flowers, trees, water sources, etc. Ellis has been really supportive and encouraging me a lot in homeschooling the kids' preschool, and it was neat to go on a "family field trip" together with Ellis teaching the kids too.

We collected a bag full of treasures as we walked along made up of flowers, tree bark, interesting leaves, etc. Both kids loved adding to the collection. I dreamed of making leaf rubbings and pressing the flowers in wax paper, classifying the items and making bar graphs, having the kids put the pictures of our hike in order and write a story, etc.,...but that hasn't happened yet. :) Hey, I still have the collection bag, so maybe one of these days!

We stopped for a snack right next to the river, and the kids took turns floating their orange peels down the river through the "rapids." Mac figured out how to make a better boat by digging out half of an orange (instead of using a small wedge). 

At one point a crawfish emerged from behind some tree roots to grab an orange peel and start eating it. It was really cool. After that, the kids ate a ton of oranges so that they could "feed" the crawfish their orange peels. :)

The fresh spring water:

Jumping off of stones that were rounded and made smooth from the water:

When we got back to the car, Ellis and I started talking about directions and trying to get home. We were pretty deep in the forest, and we no longer had a signal to use the maps on our phones. We heard Mac yelling to us from the back seat:

 "Don't worry guys, I made a map! We just have to follow these wiggly lines and it will tell us how to get home."

We "followed" Mac's map, consulting it often, and we did get home. :)

Gone Fishin'

It was a fine day for fishing today!

Digging up some bait:

Headin' down to the fishin' hole

Mac pleaded with me to take pictures of the wildlife. Below is a "Mommy, Daddy and Baby goose train," and some turtles on a log

A turtle in a tree

Geese

Corrie's first cast (into actual water)

Not too shabby, Corrie!

Mac's first cast of the day:

Not too bad either, Mac!

Another sunfish for Corrie:

And another sunfish for Mac. He loved this one's bright orange belly and called it "Orangey." 

Corrie called her next sunfish "Browny."

Then both kids caught a fish at the same time! A silver sunfish for Mac, and a nice Crappie for Corrie! (which she called her "leopard fish")

What did Mac wrangle in this time?

A Bass! Nice one Mac!

Corrie was so interested in looking into the big mouth and seeing the gills. She said, "I can see his skeleton!"

Grandpa taking out the hook:

Mommy and Corrie

When Mac and Corrie got tired, Mommy gave the ol' princess pole a try. 

The smallest fish of the day! Yay!

What a fine day!

Saturn's Rings

Grandma Johns got Mac a present for his birthday about the solar system. I knew as soon as I saw it that Mac would love it. It's sort of like a giant laptop looking thing with pictures of planets and lots of buttons. When you push a button, a planet will light up, and a very serious sounding man tells scientific facts about the planet - all of which seem way beyond the comprehension of a five-year-old.

Mac calls it his "planet computer," and he'll say, "I need to go do my planet work." Then he goes and pushes buttons and listens to the facts over and over again, making expressions on his face of wonder and amazement and saying things like, "Did you hear that?," and, "that sounds so dangerous!"...all the while having no clue what -200 degrees celsius or 50,000 light years means.

Today Mac found a fact that was hilarious and had us laughing all afternoon. We must have listened to it about 50 times.

If you didn't quite catch it, the man said, "Saturn has seven major rings. Most of which are composed of ice particles the size of fingernails and ice chunks the size of a butt."

Mac and Corrie both think the word "butt" is hilarious, but I have not been letting them use it. Instead, they must say "bottom." I have been good at keeping a serious, disciplinary face in the midst of some actually really funny times that the kids have said "butt," but I just could not hold back when I realized that the solar system man was actually saying that. 

A while ago Mac asked me when he would be old enough to say the word "butt," and I told him when he was 18. I never expected to make an exception to that rule to allow the kids to scientifically describe the size of the ice chunks in Saturn's rings! That is one fact about Saturn we will never forget!

Our Skyline Adventure: The Glorious Conclusion

Ellis whispered to me as he nudged me in my sleeping bag, "Honey. Do you hear that?"  I heard the sound of a light rain drizzling down onto our tent. "We need to get moving," he said.

I looked at my watch: 4:30am. "Oh man!" It the was final morning of our skyline bicycle adventure, and we knew that we had a long and rainy day ahead. I pleaded with Ellis to wait until at least sunrise before trying to get out of our sleeping bags, but he was certain that we needed to start packing up before the real storm hit. "I just think the Lord is telling us that we need to get going," he said.

Ellis got up and started to get the fire going as he cooked some hot oatmeal to warm us up. It took a good 1/2 hour before I was physically able to sit up and start packing up the inside of the tent, but the whole time I was thinking about how thankful I was for the night before when God had prepared my heart and mind to be ready for a challenging morning like this.

Packing up camp and loading the bikes takes quite a while, so it was 7am by the time we began peddling along the Drive for the final day of our journey. There was something really beautiful and special about biking through the mountains at sunrise. What an unexpected, wonderful surprise.

The skies actually cleared and stayed clear for several hours, even though the forecast the night before had called for rain to start early in the morning. We were so glad we started early enough to cover several miles with the sun on our backs, covering us like a warm blanket, as a dear friend would say, on that otherwise chilly morning.

On our last long uphill climb before lunch, we were greeted by a large group of cyclists (men and women) who passed us with lots of friendly smiles and cheers. They all seemed to have accents. I decided they were all from Holland because they sounded like Corrie Ten Boom to me :).

When we got to the top, I stopped at an overlook and took in the incredible view. To the west we could see some big storms beginning to roll in. 

A few minutes later we rounded a bend and the most incredible mountain scene opened up right in front of me. "This is AMAZING!," I said out loud. I was feeling great. We were making great time, and I was pedaling at a good pace as we began to descend down the mountain. About 30 seconds later, I rounded another bend and was hit with a sudden gale that was so powerful my bike came to a complete stop. I began peddling to get my bike moving again, and it was so strange to have to pedal downhill!

A few minutes later we arrived at our lunch stop. The skies had suddenly become very dark and the temperature dropped considerably as we parked our bikes next to the building. 

We walked inside and approached the lunch counter to order our food. I remember the lunch lady asking me for my order...and then I remember just standing there, unable to speak or do anything. I remember Ellis and the lady just staring at me. It was just too mentally challenging for me to make a decision, so I just remember standing there and apologizing. 

Eventually we both got some food and sat down, but I could hardly eat or do anything. I suppose I hit the wall when that wind came upon us, and then I began to think about the foreboding skies outside. I was sinking fast. 

Ellis patiently encouraged me and took every practical action he could think of to make the rest of the trip better for me. I was grateful, but not feeling any better. In the end, I knew I needed to take a few minutes to be alone. 

I excused myself to the restroom and laid my thoughts and feelings out before God. I would say it took about 10 seconds to get it all out because I couldn't think enough to elaborate much. Anyway, God encouraged me again, as He had the night before and earlier that morning. He gently reminded me of what He had been speaking to my heart to the whole trip, and I committed to trusting Him again. I came back to the dining room with the strength I needed to carry on, and a few minutes later we were off again!

Almost immediately, we began feeling rain on backs. We put on our trusty helmet lights and rain jackets and continued onward.

Soon all we could see were clouds all around us. I realize the picture below probably just looks like an overgrown yard, but moments earlier it was a beautiful view of several mountains and a valley. The clouds had begun to cover over everything.

Not long later we were biking through a thick mist. We could not even see five feet in front of us. It was still raining and pretty surreal. 

About 10 miles from the finish line, terrible thunder and lightning began to descend right on top of us. By now we were completely waterlogged. Every pedal stroke was a challenge with my heavy, soaked feet and pants. I was also freezing and losing all feeling in my hands and feet. Well, I had lost feeling long before, but now it was getting mentally difficult because of the lightning and pounding rain.

Ellis stopped and gave me his gloves and anything else that would help me make it through the last few miles. There was no shelter around, and no way out other than to keep peddling and get to our car.

Then, almost as suddenly as it came, the storm seemed to clear up. There was still a ton of mist, but now it was bright because of the sunshine. It was another amazing sight and unexpected experience!

And then before we knew it, we began our final descent to the very end of the Skyline Drive and the glorious conclusion of our three-day adventure. Soon we saw a sign that said "Leaving Shenandoah National Park Skyline Drive." That was also a surreal sight.

By now the weather had completely changed, and we arrived at our car in the midst of a beautiful late afternoon filled with sunshine.

We decided to see if there was an Outback Steakhouse nearby...and there was! Right on our way home! We were pretty psyched about that. We ordered three appetizers, a glass of wine, and two entrees. Normally we order one entree and share it.

And before we knew it, we were back at home again, in the midst of kids and housework and residency and a world away from our experiences in those beautiful blue mountains. 

The adventure was short, but the memories remain. I am sure they will continue to grow more dramatic and lengthy as time passes and I have the opportunity embellish them more with each retelling!