Mental exercises

Recently I joined a group of friends in the adventure of tackling The Well-Educated Mind and the reading lists contained therein. Wheee! I bought this book when it was first published (2003) but I had no reading partners to keep me motivated and I soon gave up. I’ve now read the first 10 chapters of Don Quixote and I have to say–it’s funny. It’s very long, but it is funny.

I’m looking forward to reading some of the great books that I didn’t come across on the road to a B.A. in English. More than that, I’m looking forward to reading them through my own eyes, rather than the eyes of a professor who will mark down papers that don’t reflect his views. I’ve read a few of the books that we will be tackling, but most of them are new to me. As a confirmed bookworm, I’m very excited about this adventure. As a homeschool mom, I’m hoping this adventure will rub off on my children: both encouraging them to read new and harder books, and also better equipping me to talk to them about what they’ve read.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A few snapshots from yesterday’s festivities. . .we were excited to have as guest our friend Karen, daughter of one of my long-time friends, Jo Ann.

Everyone waiting for me to put down the camera so we can eat. Dinner was definitely a group effort: Larry grilled steaks, Drama Boy made cranberry sauce, Boy Genius roasted green beans and made gingered sweet potatoes, and Twirly Girl made coconut-carrot salad.

Bouncy Boy climbs on Daddy because. . .I guess because he was there.

Baby Boy filled up on steak and cranberry sauce.

After pie (pumpkin, made by Silly Boy, and chocolate, made by Bouncy Boy), we played Farkel. Drama Boy wasn’t terrible excited but was more or less a good sport.

Baby Boy and Larry played as a team. . .until Baby Boy cackled with glee “I can farkel you!”

Bouncy Boy was in the lead for a long time, but Boy Genius came from behind and won. After the game was over Karen needed to head home; the kids got themselves ready for bed so they could watch a movie. All in all, it was a good day!

Bed and breakfast

When I first signed on to the Loopers email list, I had no idea I was also joining a nationwide network of friendly bed & breakfasts, clean potty stops; well, in general, a group of families willing to go out of their way to meet and accommodate other families. Since moving to Wyoming, we’ve typically been on the receiving end, staying with friends on our way back to our families in the Midwest. But we are on the way to Yellowstone so once in a while we get to be the hosts. Last night our guests were Michelle & her family from Kansas. Twirly Girl had been looking forward to this visit almost as much as I had–they have three daughters. Needless to say, there was much giggling coming from the corner bedroom all evening and well into the night. . .and again this morning too.

Now the house is quiet again, and while we wish our visit could have been longer we hope they enjoy the rest of their travels!

Minnesota

We arrived in Minnesota on a Wednesday, with kids starting to feel a little puny–nothing serious, except that it meant they had less time/energy for sightseeing and other active pursuits. Which, in turn, means that I didn’t take very many pictures on this leg of our trip! As we did a year and a half ago, we stayed with David and Glenda while visiting Larry’s parents.

On Friday, we met Grandma at Como Zoo for a picnic lunch and, well, seeing the animals. Here’s Silly Boy feeding grapes to Larry while Grandma watches:

And Drama Boy managed to fit 22 grapes in his mouth before his siblings ate the rest of them:

Sometimes I take animal pictures at the zoo; this time I did not. The card on my camera was almost full so instead I just took a few pictures of the kids.

Our trip got very interesting when we were ready to leave the zoo–the Suburban wouldn’t start. By the time we were able to get it towed to a shop, mechanics across the Twin Cities were closing for the weekend. We ended up renting a 12 passenger van while we waited a verdict (fuel pump).

Our original plan was to leave for home after Sunday lunch, but without our own vehicle we were stuck. Instead the kids got to attend VBS Sunday evening, and spend some more time with Grandpa and Grandma on Monday while Larry and I returned the rental and picked up our Suburban again.

We left Tuesday morning, but not without taking pictures of the kids with our junior hosts for the week.

Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa

We spent Memorial Day night at Dad and Mom’s house in Indiana, but after breakfast Tuesday we loaded up and headed to Illinois. There, we had lunch with Mimi (and I completely forgot to take a picture ). We spent Tuesday night in Iowa near where we used to live and were able to visit with our friends Larry & Brenda at a park as well as stop in to see Larry’s former secretaries Mary and Vivian.

I don’t think Drama Boy and his friend recognized each other at first; they have both changed a lot since this soccer game.

Nebraska and Missouri

Phew! We are home from vacation, and I think (hope) back into a normal routine. Which means it’s time for sharing vacation photos! All told, we made a very big loop and slept in seven different states in two weeks this time; we also drove across Illinois twice. If we passed near you and didn’t stop to say hello, it’s because we could only do so much without completely exhausting our children (or ourselves).

But enough of that! On Saturday, May 21, we left home bright and not-as-early-as-intended. After a very long day of driving, we arrived at Kevin & Diane’s house in Nebraska–late in the evening, but not embarrassingly so. We attended church with them in the morning and then were able to visit briefly after lunch before heading onward. We were, however, there long enough for three teenaged boys to challenge two middle aged dads to a game of football. No injuries were sustained, and no adequate pictures were taken either.

Our next stop was to visit Mark & Gina in Missouri. True to “tradition” John ended up heading to the hospital, this time on our first night there. Larry and Mark were registered for a chaplaincy class in St. Louis so they headed there early Monday, leaving the kids and I to house and dog sit until Gina and John were able to come home Tuesday afternoon. Then, because that was not enough excitement, the powers that be wanted to see John in clinic on Thursday. In Omaha. So Wednesday morning we loaded seven children into two vehicles and headed to Nebraska to spend the night with Birk & Charity. While Gina took John to clinic on Thursday, our kids continued to play with their Chicks.

Baby Boy is in awe of Super Heroes Bouncy Boy, Silly Boy, and Chick #4.

Twirly Girl twirls with Chick #3 while Chick #5 watches.

Mid afternoon we headed back to Missouri and in spite of leaving from different places at different times, Gina and I managed to cross paths about halfway back to her house. I’m pretty sure we couldn’t have done that if we’d tried! It was late by the time we got there, and the kids and I had to get up and going first thing on Friday. . .

Once bitten

Thank you all for your kind comments on my previous post about my normal children and my own introversion. Your words, as well as encouragement from a dear friend of mine, have motivated me to share more thoughts about my life as an introvert.

Once bitten. . .twice shy. All the more so, when one is already shy. Most pastors’ wives I have met share a certain degree of hesitation or awkwardness when it comes to friendship with church members. I do not know if this is a universal problem or not, as my friends also tend to do anti-cultural things like be full time homemakers making do on a single paycheck, home school, and have more than 1.7 children. Do let me be clear: we do our best to be as friendly as our unique personalities allow, but our dear girlfriends tend to be outside our local  congregation, often though certainly not always other pastors’ wives.

I did not worry about this much at Larry’s first call, perhaps in part because I had family near enough to fill some of that need for female companionship. But I also found friends in the senior pastor’s wife and in the member we asked to be Drama Boy’s godmother. And I was on friendly terms with a fair number of other women as we attended Bible study or served on altar guild together.

Then we moved to his second call. Family was much farther away. I knew more ladies from the community than I had in Illinois, but none became friends. I made friends with the other pastors’ wives in our circuit, but opportunities to visit were sporadic. It was also during these years in Iowa that we officially began home schooling. Nearly all of the younger women in that congregation were employed as teachers while their two children were at daycare or school. They took it in turns to question me on Iowa home schooling law and what I was doing about it and then left me alone. Is it any wonder I spent most of my time at church with the older ladies who had raised four or more children, had stayed at home during those years, and perhaps even knew how to sew? On two separate occasions I was befriended by younger ladies from our congregation–and both times I was later snubbed when they took issue with Larry on some point or other. The final blow came towards the end of our time there, when it was mentioned to Larry that his wife could have been more friendly to the other women.

Perhaps an outgoing woman would have taken these things in stride, but that is not who I am. We are still farther from family, and I approach people with the assumption that they probably will not want to hear what I have to say or spend time with me. Even though I have finally realized that my shyness is often mistaken for rudeness or snobbishness, I cannot seem to force myself to talk in some situations. I worry that the person who is friendly to me today will turn a cold shoulder tomorrow even though we are currently at the most genuinely friendly congregation I have ever seen. But I know that is unfair to the members who may know some of Larry’s situation in Iowa but none of mine. So I move onward. I may still be at a loss for words as often as not, but I can smile. Even when I’d rather hide in the nearest closet.

Friends and books

I most definitely enjoyed my weekend! I felt occasional twinges of guilt for leaving home all by myself, but a lack of local friends means that face time with friends is going to require being gone more than a couple of hours. Road trips are always fun with Wendi. On Saturday we were joined by Cheryl, and I met Jenn, Christina, and Jan for the first time. . .because really, has anyone ever met too many Loopers? Once we were tired of buying books, most of us headed to P.F. Chang’s for lunch. Yum!

I won’t bore you with a complete list of my used book sale finds: suffice it to say that I should have brought two bags to balance the weight better! Titles ranged from a hardback volume of Curious George stories to Homer Price to Canterbury Tales, and my two bookworms Drama Boy and Twirly Girl were the first to rummage through my bag. Meanwhile Baby Boy was disappointed that I would only read one Curious George story today and spent plenty of time studying the illustrations on his own.

I spent less time at the curriculum fair; and most of my time (and money) was spent at the Excellence in Writing booth. It was a treat to be able to actually thumb through the materials on my list before making the final decision to purchase them! I picked up Level 1 of All About Spelling to use with the younger boys, as well as Fix It! and The Blue Book of Grammar for the older kids (and eventually the younger kids). Yes. . .I am excited about new grammar and spelling books although I suspect the kids do not share my enthusiasm.

Checking in, heading out

First and foremost, I am thrilled to report that our godson John is HOME!

Hmmm. After that it seems rather anti-climatic to mention that my coat is nearly done, but as of last night it is. It’s even wearable, as long as it’s warm enough to wear it open: I am stumped by the buttonholes. I’ve been browsing every sewing book I have (including Mom’s) and just haven’t quite wrapped my brain around how to do buttonholes through two layers of thick interfaced fabric.

I have not forgotten those of you who asked for the biscotti recipe, and I’ll share with you as soon as it is typed into my computer. If that’s not fast enough, you’re more than welcome to come over and join me for a cup of coffee.

And now, as soon as I have some breakfast in me (baked oatmeal is still baking), I’m heading out to see my friend Wendi for some girl time. Or, uh, rather, homeschool planning and shopping. Rumor has it several other Loopers will be in attendance. . .

Fourth day of Christmas

Well, this morning we threw the kids for a loop with only a single gift under the tree. So they added more gifts, just for me!

Left to right, that’s Baby Boy, Bouncy Boy, Silly Boy, and (of course!) Twirly Girl.

They all worked together to open their gift. . .

And, since it was a pair of card games (we taped the two boxes end to end so they had NO idea what they were opening), then they all played together:

Today’s mail brought a gift for me. A group of dear email friends had our 10th annual ornament exchange this Christmas. Robin had my name this year, and she sent me this lovely sparkly snowflake she had machine embroidered: