Simple Machines

Most days as I walk through the house, I can tell pretty easily where Corrie has been. She is always inventing various ways to display her animals, and she loves the thought of giving them fun rides or letting them hang upside-down somehow. 

Sometimes her inventions catch me by surprise. On Monday morning I saw Corrie standing at the bathroom sink with a bar of soap and a piece of cardboard. 

"Corrie! Please don't make a wet cardboard mess!" 

She explained, matter-of-factly, that the cardboard was part of her "soap machine." She created it for sliding soap down in to the sink, "to get it there faster when you have to go somewhere and wash your hands in a hurry." 

Later that morning the little girl across the street came over, and she and Corrie built an "elevator" using a trash bag and some string. After her friend went home, Corrie stayed and played in the tree for a long time, giving her ponies "elevator rides." :)

When Mac got home from school, he couldn't wait to make a "pulley machine" too. His pulley handle was a little more interesting than Corrie's basic shovel handle. (A red spying decoder attached to pencils attached to an embroidery string holder).

Instead of a pony elevator, he made an eyeball carrier.

For now Davey just runs around and watches Mac and Corrie's inventions and machines in action. 

Davey, we can't wait to see your contributions to all of these imaginative adventures!

Is This a House for a Corrie Johns?

It's hard to believe that we've only been in Charlottesville for a couple of months now. Sure seems like a lot longer than that! However, in a lot of ways, Front Royal still feels like home. I know that it will just take a little time for us to settle in, but Corrie has been having a harder time than I thought she would with the change. 

Sometimes she will cry and say, "Mommy, I just weawy, weawy, weawy want to go home." Three "weawys" means she is pretty serious, and I know she is trying to tell me that she wants to go back to our house in Front Royal. And that sure is heart-breaking to hear with that sweet little voice of hers. 

A few weeks ago I got a book for Mac from the library titled, Is This a House for a Hermit Crab? As I read it to Mac, I got an idea for an activity to do with Corrie that I thought might help her get a little more used to our house in Charlottesville.

The book talks about a hermit crab that needs a new shell, and he tries on different "houses" that just don't seem to fit for various reasons. Finally, at the end, he finds a new home that fits just right for him.

So I thought I would help Mac and Corrie make their own books: 

I printed out pictures of various animal "houses" from the internet, and we put them on the pages together. I would ask, (looking at a spider web), "is this a house for a Corrie Johns?" She would say, "No!," and I would write down what she said on the page below the picture: 

For Mac, I simplified the content so that he could try and write his own responses:

On the last page, I put a picture of our house. I asked Corrie, "Is this a house for a Corrie Johns?!" 

She decided it was :)

Mac thought so too :)

But as I was preparing the materials for the kids to make their books, I knew in my heart that the story did not end there. 

So we added one last page. I helped the kids put a Bible verse in order and tape it onto the page: 

"Oh Lord of our hearts, home is not home without You."

-Charles Spurgeon

Davey's World

Just a glimpse into his sweet little world :)

Happy Halloween

We had fun with Halloween yesterday. When I gave the kids a snack, I would say, "Okay! Who wants a skeleton bone?" (A banana) Or, "Yum! look! Cheesy worms!" (Macaroni and cheese). Mac did not like the pretending at all. He kept saying, "Mom! Could you please stop?!" However, Corrie loved it, and I think she actually thought she a was eating a leg bone at one point.  

We managed to accumulate plenty of pumpkins for our porch this year, and thankfully we found a way to decorate them without having to carve them. (We used stickers from the grocery store). I tried to get a picture of the kids sitting with the pumpkins, but they would not even look at me until they all started saying, "Booooooo," which Davey loved. 

We were invited to a Halloween party by a couple friends in my Bible study, and I was grateful for the opportunity since Ellis was working. 

I was glad that the kids were fine with choosing costumes out of our dress-up bin instead of buying them. I stuck Davey in a Cookie Monster onesie, and Corrie chose Elmo (Mac's costume from when he was 2). Mac chose the Batman outfit (size 2T). Corrie fit surprisingly well into the Elmo suit, but Batman was a bit of a stretch (no pun intended). 

I told Mac that it made him look like he had big muscles (it was ripping apart at the seams). The cape was tied on (the velcro was missing), the mask barely stretched around Mac's head (it was so tight that the eye holes were like little slits and he could not see out of them), and the legs only reached just below his knees...but it did not seem to matter to Mac.

When we got to the party, Mac was running around and kicking and chopping the air and jumping with his cape. In his mind, he was really Batman. He totally pulled it off. I chuckled when we ran into a 2-year-old with the same costume later that night. It was obvious how the outfit was supposed fit/look, but Mac didn't seem to notice any difference. His reaction was so sweet. "Mom! A little Batman! Now there are two!" He proceeded to walk next to the "Little Batman" and escort him to the next house for more candy. 

We tried to get a group picture of all the kids before going trick-or-treating, but I am sure you can imagine how it went. I was happy that all three of our kids were in the frame at the same time long enough to snap a picture.

In some ways I would like for Halloween to come a few times a week because of the opportunity for Mac to run and run and run for at least an hour straight. He has the time of this life, and I am so glad for an outlet for some of his energy.

Mac got a pumpkin flashlight at school earlier in the day, and it turned out to be the saving grace of the night for me.

I would have surely lost him amongst the darkness and crowds if not for my instructions to stand and hold his pumpkin up if he couldn't see us. (I am also glad he did not go blind from staring directly into it for hours).


In summary, the day definitely had its hard parts (none of the kids took a nap, and it was so hard for the kids to wait until the evening for costumes and candy!) But all in all, what the kids remember is having a ton of fun and getting to meet and play with some new friends.

I am grateful for those blessings!

Corrie Ruth Johns: Four years old

On the evening of October 9, 2014, Corrie and I snuggled on her bed and practiced holding up four fingers instead of three. It was a little tough getting all four fingers to cooperate, but she loved the prospect of being four enough to keep practicing. It was exciting to think that in the morning she would be four years old!

The day of her birthday was pretty low-key. We enjoyed having time to make bracelets together and bake her cake while Mac was at school.

We waited for Mac to come back from school so that he could help decorate the cake. 

They were both pleased with the end result: a "strawberry mustache" cake!

Mac spent the afternoon making Corrie a card while she took her nap. He told me that he taped every sticker on the paper individually to make sure that they would stay on. :)

We had Corrie's choice for dinner, which was sandwiches and chips. :) 

And then it was time for cake!

She has been asking for several months for a pair of roller skates. 

She was so delighted to get a pair of her own for her birthday!

Before bed that night, we watched a special video from Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Joy. 

To say that she loved it would be an understatement. I think we watched it at least 20 times!

The following weekend, we headed up to Baltimore so that Corrie could celebrate her birthday with our family and especially her cousin Hannah. Corrie and Hannah are only a few days apart in age, and they always love being together. It was sweet for them to have a little birthday tea party together!

I loved seeing her big blue eyes peeking out over the teacup. Her little hands could hardly hold the cup up, but she loved every part of it!

Happy birthday sweet, beautiful Corrie. We love you!

And, just because I love it so much, here is some extra footage of Corrie and Davey dancing :)

Mac

This afternoon Mac said, "Mom, today I told my teacher that there are two things I am afraid of." 

"What two things are you afraid of, Mac?

"I am afraid of being touched by an anemone and being eaten by a colossal squid!!!!"

"A colossal squid?!" 

"Mom, they're 10 feet long!"  

Then he went and found the drawing that we have been working on since Sunday afternoon. It started out as a drawing of his fish tank, and then it became a drawing of the whole ocean (all inside the tiny space of his fish tank).

He continues to beg me to add more and more "sea creatures" to our "ocean tank" drawing. In his mind it is completely reasonable to ask me to draw a basking shark and a sea horse and a sperm whale in the teeniest little space ever! (In the photo above he is pointing out "a big space" for me to draw a tiger shark).

I finally drew the line (no pun intended) at his request for an underwater volcano. "Mom! Draw it in a hot zone with a yetti crab that collects "macteria!" (bacteria). I guess in some ways his blind faith in my artistic abilities is a little endearing.

A few weeks ago we were reading the Bible before bed. The story that night was about Jesus being baptized. Mac asked, "Mommy, what is baptize?" 

I don't know exactly what I said, but it was something about baptism being a way that you tell the world that Jesus is the King of your heart. I asked Corrie if she would like for Jesus to be King of her heart. She said, "Oh yes!"

I asked Mac, and he said, solemnly, Oh. No. Mommy. I cannot do that." 

I asked him why, and he said, "because I have an evil plan in my heart." 

Evil plan? I was not sure how to respond to that. "What is your evil plan, Mac?"

"My evil plan is to turn all of the mommies into robots so that I can do whatever I want!" 

Such a sweet, genuine, sensitive, imaginative little guy. I marvel that he is already wrestling with the challenge of surrendering his own will and yielding to the Lord's will for him. (And I think his robot technology has a little way to go before his evil plan will work).

                 

Precious Mac. I pray that one day soon he will know the joy of entrusting all of his plans to Jesus and experience the freedom to walk passionately in the Lord's good plans for him!

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." -Jeremiah 29:11

Pet Deprivation

Last weekend we went to a friend's house. As soon as we walked in the door, all three of our kids immediately spotted our friend's pet guinea pig. Even Davey was laughing and smiling and excitedly pointing to it. It was like they were in a guinea pig trance, and I could not get them to even acknowledge or meet their new friends. I looked at my friend. "Sorry, they are a little pet-deprived." 

It's true. Our kids love animals. Corrie cried for almost an entire night when I told her that we were not allowed to have a kitty or puppy in our new house (no pets allowed in our lease). 

So, they have taken to expressing their fondness for the animal kind by "creating" their own pets. Mac started with a worm. He named him "Dirt," and he carried Dirt everywhere in an empty pencil sharpener that he found.

Here is a picture of Mac and Dirt swinging together at the park. Mac said, "Mom, this is Dirt's first time on the swings! He loves it!" Sadly, Dirt died after a few short but adventurous days. The miracle was that he actually lived a few days.

A highlight of the summer was visiting Grandma and Grandpa Johns at the very height of baby toad season. I don't know how many toads the kids managed to squeeze into their tiny little hands at once, but I do know that when I asked Mac to open his hands, about 7 squashed toads fell out. I don't know what was more unnerving, seeing so many little toad arms and legs trying to squeeze out of clenched toddler fists, or looking into the "toad tub" that they collected their toads in.

It seems these days that  Corrie has focused her energy on her stuffed animals, especially a little hedgehog that she carries around in her shirt. Unfortunately, Mac has turned his attention to the insect world. 

It seems that any empty container Mac can get his hands on is just waiting to be filled with a new "friend."

This new hobby is also a bit unnerving, but I thought it would be fine as long as the rules were clear that bugs are "outside" pets. "Hey," I thought to myself, "we'll be fine as long as we keep those critters outside."

By now I know that there is so much about that line of reasoning that is very, very wrong.

For example, meet Mac's pet spider that he named, "Orange Exclamation Point." Maybe you can't see him too well in the little tub that Mac caught him in because he is so small. I must admit that I thought he was a little bit cute...so tiny...and Mac was loving carrying him around and talking to him and "feeding" him all afternoon.

I guess it was a few hours before I asked Mac, "Why did you name him Orange Exclamation Point?" He said, "Because he has one on his back!" 

Wait a minute...

I took a much closer look at the little bug. It did not seem so sweet anymore. I took a picture and zoomed in. Whoa Nelly. Not good!

I put a strong lid over the container and starting googling "spider with orange exclamation point." Eventually, I found an exact match, which about gave me a heart attack and put an immediate end to Mac's short relationship with "Little Orangey." 

Even though I hated looking at the picture, I did let Mac make a poster about his tiny friend:

Mac and Corrie are still finding interesting ways to express their longing to care for a little creature of their own. (I keep telling them that they already have a fish, but apparently that doesn't count because I won't let them touch it or carry it around).

This afternoon the kids and I were sitting on the couch reading books, and Mac became distracted by something in the window. Next thing I knew, he was holding a fly and talking to it as it walked along his hand and arm...his new pet..."Fly Guy."

He kept saying things like, "look at him! He's so cute! Look at those beautiful wings." He and Corrie were playing with the fly as it contentedly walked along their hands. I was sure the fly was injured or dying, but it was completely fine! It could fly and everything! I have never seen anything like it.

After letting Corrie have a turn holding his pet, Mac picked up Fly Guy and said, "MOMMY! HE JUST LAID A BABY ON MY FINGER!"

What in the world? I looked at his finger and literally saw a TINY MAGGOT crawling on it!!!!

And Mac was saying, "Oh that is so sweet! Look at that cute baby!"

And that was the end of Fly Guy. 

Poor Mac. :(

And now I am thinking that a guinea pig is starting to look pretty good!