The Wedding at Cana

A couple of nights ago, I read John 2 which includes the story of Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding.  I’ve been pondering why that story is included in the Bible, besides the fact that it’s just one of the episodes of Jesus’ life.  From what I can tell, the book of John would be pretty complete even without it.  Why does God want us to know about it?  I’m not a Bible scholar, but here are some of my thoughts on the subject.

1. Mary, the mother of Jesus, already knew that Jesus was special and could have done something about the wine situation.  Did she understand at that point that Jesus was the Messiah?  Did she know that He would have to die?  I don’t know and it’s not at all clear in the story.  But, she definitely knew that Jesus was different from her other sons.

2. Jesus also knew He was different.  I’ve often wondered when Jesus knew of His true identity.  Did He skip the “terrible twos” because He knew that He was perfect, even at age 2?  I have no idea.  Yet, Jesus didn’t ask his mother if she was crazy with wanting him to deal with the lack of wine.  Rather, He told her that His time had not yet come.

3. Jesus honored his mother.  He told her that His time was not yet come, but then did what his mother had asked.  Later in the gospels, Jesus tells people that they must be willing to give up even their family if necessary to follow Him.  I don’t think that Jesus did what his mother asked because He was still under her authority as a child – He was, after all, a 30 year old man.  However, by doing what she asked, He showed that He was willing to change His plans to honor his mother.

4. They were drinking wine.  I know this seems pretty obvious since the miracle is usually referred to as “changing water into wine.”  Anyone who grew up in a Southern Baptist church can tell you, though, that this is kind of a sticky passage.  If alcohol is the evil that the early 20th century temperance activists would have had us believe, then why does Jesus change the water into wine?  No, it doesn’t say grape juice, although I have heard this explanation.  In fact, in a time when there was no refrigeration, alcoholic beverages were often the safest things to drink.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the alcohol level was relatively low and not the 12% of most modern wines.  However, there was clearly some alcohol here because the master of the house was impressed because he thought that the bridegroom had saved the best wine till later when people were already drunk.  I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen anyone drunk off grape juice, even the sparkly kind!

5. What hit me today was that Mary told the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”  Well, no big deal.  This guy is going to tell us to run down to the corner store and get a few more kegs, right?  Uh, no.  Jesus had them fill up jars that were normally filled with water for guests to wash their feet.  I don’t know if people dunked their feet in the jars to get them clean or if they dipped the water out onto their feet.  In any case, I don’t think that these were “food-grade” containers.  You probably would not have chosen to drink water out of such a jar.  So, the servants must have been pretty skeptical of the whole thing.  But, they obeyed.  And the wine was better than what had previously been served.  The lesson here?  Jesus may ask us to do all kinds of things that are counterintuitive, but He’s God, and I’m not.  I may not always understand the outcome and may not always get wine out of the footwashing jar, but I can be like the servants in the story and do what he says.  (There’s no note about whether or not the servants complained or fussed, but it’s generally not good to fuss to the Creator of the universe.  Just sayin’.)  If I have a question on what to do, I can fall back on “Do whatever He tells you.”  When I’m unsure, the four gospels have lots of sermons and stories by Jesus, and they all boil down to the same thing: love.

6. So, why is this story even included in the Bible?  It’s really cool that some wedding guests in first-century Cana got some spectacular wine, but why was it worth using precious parchment and ink?  The answer can be found in verse 11: “What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.”  This episode was important because it was the first time that he was revealed as more than just a local carpenter.  It was also the event that convinced his disciples of his identity as Messiah – or at least got them started in that direction.  When I read back to the gospels, I see these miracles and think that they are pretty small potatoes compared to the resurrection.  Indeed, they are – to me, 2000 years later.  But, at the time, the host of the wedding thought this miracle was a really big deal.  I don’t understand why Jesus healed so many in Palestine in the first century, but left many more unhealed at that time, not to mention the millions of people who suffered before His coming and after His ascension.  But, for the three years of Jesus’ ministry, those who could get close to Him had a chance at healing – and it was a big deal for them.  This story of the wedding at Cana is the first piece of evidence that Jesus was more than just the carpenter from the next village.  It’s included in the Bible so we can see how He started in ministry.

7. This story also affirms the everyday joys of life.  Jesus participated in the normal celebrations of the community.  My life as a Christian includes these typical ups and down of living normal life with other people.  Jesus didn’t avoid these normal parts of life because He was busy with his ministry; this WAS His ministry.  He was involved in the lives of those around Him.

What do you think about this story?  What does it tell us about Jesus?

Idols

I’ve been reading a lot about idols, particularly this post and this post by Skye Jethani.  I’m also listening to The Screwtape Letters (book written by C.S. Lewis) radio drama.  Skye Jethani makes the very important point that we must not let our mission become our idol.  God doesn’t love us because of what we do for Him.  It’s the exact opposite – we love God because of who He gave us.  Doing activities for God, even things that are good in and of themselves, is only part of our life as a Christian.  If we neglect our inner life because we are always out “doing” something, we miss something vital.  I can’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve heard myself and other people talk about being too busy for prayer and worship.  So, we end up neglecting the part of life that isn’t immediately visible to the rest of the world.

C.S. Lewis, in The Screwtape Letters, makes the point that we should not make our faith solely a part of our inner life.  He emphasizes that we are both physical and spiritual creatures (he has Screwtape call humans “amphibians” because we live in the physical and the spiritual world).  One thing that really sticks out to me is that our position in prayer can affect our praying.  It’s not that God says the we must kneel or fold our hands or whatever.  Rather, by placing ourselves in a certain physical position, our body is reinforcing in the physical realm the reality in the spiritual realm.  In Lewis’ eyes, we need to make sure that we don’t sit around and navel-gaze without making our faith real by acting in a way that pleases God.

It might seem that Jethani and Lewis are saying contradictory things.  They’re not, though.  They are each writing to warn us not to go too far in the wrong direction.  It’s like we are walking on a very narrow path in which we are balancing faith and works.  The book of James tells us that faith and deeds are inextricably connected; you can’t have one without the other.  If we go off the road on one side, we make an idol of the good things that we are doing and hoping that God will approve us because of them.  If we veer off the other direction, we become so focused on our prayer, Bible study, knowledge, and spiritual feelings that we’ve made an idol out of being “spiritual” (because we know that works are not what provide salvation).

The balance here is that, the longer we walk with Jesus and tend appropriately to our inner spiritual life, the more that we will (if we are obedient) live a life focused on other people and meeting their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.  Our faith and  our works go hand in hand.  If we allow one to become our complete focus in life, we have made an idol of it.  When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we will stay on that straight path with both our inner and outer lives being appropriately tended.  Clearly, I’ve not arrived at this state of spiritual maturity.  Too often, I find that I’ve been so busy trying to do good things that I’ve left Jesus by the wayside.  At other times, I pay close attention to my reading, Bible study, and prayer, but then act selfishly and in other ways that Jesus would not encourage.

I don’t have great advice on this subject, since it’s one that I struggle with.  I do think, though, that I’m learning to live minute by minute and making sure that I’m hanging out close to Him (in a spiritual sense) so that each decision I make or direction I take is with God.  That sounds really mystical, but it’s not as spooky and “smoke and mirrors” as it sounds.  The more that I pray, read Scripture, and study Scripture, the more resources I have to make decisions.  If I’ve just been reading about love in the book of 1 Corinthians, I’m more likely to act in a loving way; the more often this happens, the more it becomes a habit.  No, I don’t hear voices and I don’t trust impressions.  Rather, I rely on prayer and the Bible.

I hope this was helpful for someone reading it.  It was good for me to write it.  And convicting about my need to clean up some in my inner and outer lives.  Thoughts? Ideas?

7 Quick Takes Friday–July 22, 2011

I’ve posted lots of new stuff on The Knitting Nest blog, so hop over there to check it out.  We do have a life outside of yarn, so that’s what I’m talking about on this blog.

1. My dad’s birthday is today!!  Happy Birthday, Dad!

2. Speaking of birthdays, I had one last week, but got presents this week.  The kids got me Focus on the Family’s radio drama of The Screwtape Letters.  I am LOVING it!!  Andy Serkis does the voice of Screwtape and he’s wonderful.  The gift from my parents is a new mp3 player.  I ordered it early this week and should get it next week.  My other mp3 player died several months ago and I’ve been using Wild Man’s.  The problem is that I often have several library books as well as music from Rhapsody on the player and Wild Man’s mp3 player doesn’t have as much memory as I’d like.

3. Rosie Girl has her driver’s test in two weeks, so she’s been doing a lot of driving.  PWM and I are very proud of how she is doing – she drove home from her piano lesson in Appleton this week.

4. Rosie Girl has been babysitting three little girls for two full days a week.  She loves the little girls, but found out how hard it can be yesterday.  The heat has been extreme and the family she babysits for only has window units in the girls’ bedroom so they were all uncomfortable and getting crabby.  But, Rosie Girl is shaking it off and going back for two days next week.  I love watching her grow up!

5. Wild Man told me on Wednesday that he was bored of TV and video games!  There were extenuating circumstances, though.  Wild Man started getting sick on Monday night so he didn’t do much except lie around, watch TV, and listening to audiobooks.  Yesterday, I came home from the shop for an hour just to keep him company because he was getting lonely.  He’s all back to normal now – and isn’t lying on the sofa watching TV all day!

6. While Wild Man was sick, I realized just how much noise the boy makes!  The three days he was sick were some of the quietest we’ve had in our house.  I kept checking on him every hour or so because I was worried about how quiet it was!

7. Grandma came on Wednesday, so we’ve been enjoying her company.  She took everyone to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 this evening.  Well, everyone except me because I had a migraine that started this afternoon.   PWM and I will go in a couple of days when I’m feeling better.

That’s what’s been going on in our family!  How are things in your part of the world?  Check out 7 Quick Takes Friday to see what others are saying!

 

How to Live

6 With what shall I come before the LORD
   and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
   with calves a year old?
⁷ Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
   with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
   the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
⁸ He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
   And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
   and to walk humbly^[a] with your God.

I learned Micah 6:8 in elementary school.  I remember it so well because it was put to music.  Since we used the King James Version of the Bible back then, I always remember, “He has shewn thee, Oh man, what is good, and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.”

Right before this section, God is asking Israel to remember the things he has done for her.  In verses 6 and 7, Micah says that God is not primarily interested in offerings; in verse 8, we see that God wants us to “act justly”, “love mercy”, and “walk humbly” with God.

Micah was writing/speaking to Israel and Judah, that is, to God’s chosen people.  Moses had already given the people God’s instructions for life in the Torah.  When Israel followed God’s commands, it was showing that they were God’s chosen people and it was to be an example to other nations.  But, people being people, God’s chosen people had turned to idols (yet once again).  In the beginning of chapter 6, God reminds the people of His goodness in bringing them out of Egypt and having Moses lead them.

You might think that Micah would be exhorting the Israelites to get back to obeying the details of the Torah.  But he doesn’t.  Instead, he rhetorically asks about the value of sacrifice to atone for “the sin of my soul”.

In verse 8, Micah tells us what God really wants from us – “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”  Micah isn’t saying to forget the Torah (the Law), but summarizing the Law.  The Law specified how the Israelites were to “act justly”.  The first couple of commandments in the Ten Commandments teach us to be humble before God.

The details of how we behave as believers are not unimportant.  God expects us to live out our faith (see the book of James).  But, showing love and mercy to others, worshiping God, and working for justice are more critical than the more obvious sacrifice.  Jesus reminds us in the Sermon on the Mount that we are not to do our good deeds to be seen by men.  Micah is saying something similar here; God didn’t want Israel to get all the sacrifices (that were visible to others) done correctly but not love one another.

So, Micah 6:8 is a summary of what God expects.  Sometimes it’s easier to do the “flashy” or “obvious” good deeds, like participating in church activities.  Yet, God wants our hearts turned toward Him and to overflow with love.

How do we “act justly”, “love mercy”, and “walk humbly” with God?  This is, I think, the hard part.  It involves a minute by minute walk with Jesus.  Every interaction with every person gives us the chance to do these things.  It’s more difficult, but we can’t do it without God’s constant presence anyway.  When I allow my relationship with Jesus to inform every action of my day, I have done “what is good”.  This means that my Christian walk is going to look different than everyone else’s – which is good.

Micah 6:8 doesn’t tell me to work harder at being a better person.  Rather, it says to walk with God.  I don’t have it all figured out, but I hope that each day brings me closer and closer.

Your thoughts?

 

 

Who Am I? Part 2

The last time I asked this question on the blog, I was having a little fun with coming up with titles for me in The Knitting Nest.  (By the way, PWM and are thinking seriously that he should be the “Yarn Rock Star” and I’ll be the “Yarn Groupie”!)  Today, I’m considering it from a more serious perspective.  You’d think that by the age of 44, I’d have this whole “Who am I?” thing sorted out, but it is more complex than it looks on the outside.

I found out today that some friends of ours from when I was in medical school have founded a medical ministry in a third-world country.  Which it totally amazing and wonderful!!  But it made me feel a little uneasy and almost sad.

You see, I’ve always wanted to “make an impact” or “change the world” for God through medicine.  I went to Tulane medical school because it’s an excellent medical school, little thinking that I might end up as a family doctor in a small town.  I worked for ten years as a physician.  And then, five years ago, I had to quit working because of migraines.  My counselor and I have been working through the issue of getting my self-worth from being a child of God instead from doing lots of good things for God.  When I couldn’t practice medicine anymore, my world was rocked pretty hard.  It’s not just that I had spent so long training to become a doctor, but because I saw medicine as my ministry.  And, even more, I saw it as my way to be a “good Christian”.  So I’m kind of jealous to see my colleagues doing such “great things for God”. 

I came across this article by Skye Jethani today and it’s saying a lot that I need to hear.  God wants us to live with Him and be with Him, not just do things for Him.  God may, indeed, call us to work in cross-cultural missions, but He might just think that it’s more important to have a couple of people open a yarn shop in a small town.  I’m learning to understand that God loves me because He created me, not because of anything that I do.  And I’m being reminded that my calling in a small town in Wisconsin is just as important in God’s plan as my friends’ calling in a third-world country.

Read Skye Jethani’s article.  He says it much better than I can.

School Year 2011-2012

It's getting closer and closer to school starting, so I need to put together a plan to make sure these kids get educated over the next year.

To start with, here are our general academic goals for both kids before they finish their formal education:

• They will be fully literate with very good oral and written communication skills.
• They will have good “number sense” with the ability to use math to manage their money as well as whatever math is required for any higher education that they choose.
• They will have a good understanding of the tenets of the Christian faith and the contents of the Bible along with a basic understanding of the other major world religions.
• They will understand the basics of world history and how the Church and our country fit into that history.
• They will have read a wide range of literature.
• They will know how to find information that they need.

Now, on to specifics for the 2011-2012 school year.

Rosie Girl (11th grade)

Bible – New Testament Survey

- Rosie Girl will read through the New Testament in conjunction with How to Read the Bible Book by Book and write an essay after she finishes each book.

History – Twentieth Century World History.

- Sonlight Core 300 reading with one essay after she finishes studying each decade of the 20th century.

Literature – Twentieth Century World Literature

- Sonlight Core 300 literature with an essay after she finishes each book.

Composition

- Write At Home – Research paper workshop in the 2nd quarter in conjunction with her science studies.

- Essays for Bible, History, and Literature.

Creative writing – She regularly writes stories for fanfiction.net and will probably be in the high school writing club.

Science – The Science of Music

- This is a self-directed half-credit course. Rosie Girl will study either the science of how music is made and/or the science of how music affects people. (If she decides to do both, we will extend this to a full-credit course.) She will keep a journal of her reading, do a presentation after the first quarter of the year, and write a research paper (in conjunction with her composition course) in the second quarter of the year.

Math – Algebra 2 (ALEKS)

Japanese – BYU online course

Art 3 – Local high school course

Metals – Local high school course (in the art department)

Piano and Keyboards

- Lessons at Lawrence Academy

- Playing keyboards with the worship team at church once a month.

Music Composition and Arranging – at Lawrence Academy (if there are enough students to have the course.

Physical Education

- Tap dance class and perhaps acting as a demonstrator for more basic classes at Dance Dynamics.

- Regular exercise – walking, biking, etc.

Community Service

- Helping our church's Worship Arts Director once a week.

Occupational Education

- Working at The Knitting Nest (our family business – opening August 23) as we need her.

- Babysitting

- (Possibly) teaching piano lessons

Wild Man

Bible – Apologetics

- Wild Man will read several books on apologetics over the course of the year with discussions and journaling to supplement.

History/Science – Weapons

- Wild Man wants to study weapons this year. For at least half a year (and, perhaps, the whole year), Wild Man will read Warrior and Weapon, two books that study warriors and weapons through world history. He will then use other materials (books, internet, etc.) to study the specific time periods in history, the important conflicts, and the weapons that were used. He will also take Hunter Safety course as well as go with family friends to use various types of weapons (bows and arrows as well as firearms) on a closed range. He will learn to use weapons safely. This course will cover both social science and natural science as he learns the historical use of weapons along with the mechanics of how they work. Wild Man will journal daily and do a project each quarter.

Math – ALEKS

Literature

- Sonlight Core W literature (we have the books from doing this Core three years ago)

Composition

- Institute for Excellence in Writing

- Writing about weapons in his unity study

Grammar

- Easy Grammar

Spelling

- All About Spelling

Music

- Band at the local middle school

- Drum lessons every week

- Youth Band practice every week at church

Community Service

- Senior Nutrition Site volunteering once a week

- Helping the Children's Minister at church on Sunday mornings

Physical Education

- 30 minutes of physical activity each day

-Tae Kwon Do

Occupational Education

- Working at The Knitting Nest as needed

One of the biggest changes that we're going to do this year is be more flexible and less scheduled. I've started by getting rid of their chore lists. The kids haven't been good about doing the chores regularly and PWM and I haven't been consistent in enforcing it. This does not mean that they won’t work around the house!!  They may actually end up doing more around the house since PWM and I will be working at the yarn shop!!  Instead of a schedule, we've asked the kids to step up and do things before we ask them. PWM and I will also assign the kids tasks around the house (cooking and cleaning) as needed. They won't be working less, but it will be less structured.

Instead of giving the kids school work lists each day, I'm going to have them take more responsibility for their education. Rosie Girl is going to have her Sonlight schedule and a Bible reading plan. For all of her subjects, she will journal the amount of time she spends on the subject as well as a paragraph about what she's done. Her science course is completely self-directed, so I'm expecting her to be very independent. She and I will have “conferences” every Friday so I can make sure she's keeping up.

Wild Man’s social sciences and natural sciences are a self-directed unit study, but since he’s thirteen, I don't expect him to be as self-directed as his sister. I'm going to have him read from one of the “spine” books (Warrior and Weapon) every day. As he gets interested in topics, I'll help him find more materials for study. Wild Man still needs my help with spelling, grammar, and writing, so we'll probably do those in the evening or up at the shop (although I'm hoping the shop will be too busy to allow us to do schoolwork there).

This has been a really long post, but it has helped me to sort out next year's schoolwork. One thing that I need to work on, though, is keeping up with Rosie Girl's work and assigning credit.

Fellow homeschoolers, how is your school planning going?  Everyone, are you feeling ready for the kids to go back to school, be it public, private or home school?  Are you wondering where all the time is going?!

 

Who Am I?

You may think that since I just celebrated my 44^th (ACK!) birthday, that this post is going to be a philosophical exploration of my spiritual identity, emotional status, and or mental well-being. Well, it's not.

I may have mentioned once or twice (or a million times) that our family is opening a yarn shop. My question is really, “Who am I in The Knitting Nest?” PWM is the business owner and is going to be responsible for the day-to-day financial workings, getting items priced and on the shelves, etc. While we have been doing most things jointly, there are at least two or three days each week when I'm completely useless for a good bit of the day because of migraines and then another day or two when the headache isn't bad, but I'm just worn out.  I don't think I can really count myself as a business manager.  I will be doing lots of knitting of models, helping to teach classes, and various and sundry other things.

I think we should have interesting titles, kind of like how Starbucks employees are “barristas”, Disney employees are “Imagineers”, and Apple sales employees are “Evangelists”. PWM is the owner, so we can call him “Boss”, “Chief Yarn Dude”, or “Head Honcho”. I wanted to be the “Yarn Goddess”, but after the fiasco with my Fair Isle sweater, I don't think I can equate myself with a deity yet.

Here are some ideas I've come up with for a job “title” for myself:

1. Knitting Aficionado. According to Dictionary.com, aficionado means “an ardent devotee”. That seems to fit, although it's not very inclusive.

2. Yarn Connoisseur. Hmmmmmm. Maybe.

3. Knitting Nest Accomplice. That makes me sound like a criminal. I think not.

4. Yarn and Social Media Maven. Getting closer.

5. Girl Friday. Umm, no.

6. Knitting Nest Gofer and Yarn and Social Media Artiste. Too long.

7. The Mom (Wild Man's contribution). Rather limited – I'm only “Mom” to two people.

I'm not so thrilled with any of these. What do you think? Maybe I should just be “Catherine” and let people try to figure it out from there?

 

 

Cross-posted at The Knitting Nest blog.

7 Quick Takes Friday–July 15, 2011

Friday, once again!! I celebrated my 44^th birthday yesterday, so today's post is all about July 14, 2011.

1. I was awakened by PWM and Wild Man who had made chocolate chip pancakes – my favorite! They had a candle in the pancakes that I blew out. When I pulled the candle out, the very bottom was just a string – the wax had melted in the hot pancakes! We cut the very center bit of the pancakes out so I didn't get a big bite of wax!

2. We met with a sales representative for several yarn companies yesterday from 10:30am-1:30pm. I have learned my lesson – sales meetings take at least twice as long as I expect.

3. After our meeting, I went up to church to hang out with our Worship Arts Director for a little while before my counseling appointment. PWM and the kids had stopped at Dairy Queen and picked up an ice cream cake and brought it to church for me to enjoy with my friends. Unfortunately, the cake was so frozen that we couldn't even get the knife through it! I put it int the church refrigerator and my friends and I had some after my counseling appointment.

4. The kids were both at sleepovers last night, so PWM and I had the house to ourselves. Don't worry, though, there's still cake in the freezer for them.

5. Wild Man is staying with a friend of his whose family owns a large dairy farm. He went over yesterday afternoon and is staying until Youth Band practice tomorrow afternoon. When he's over there, he works right along with the other kids. While this is a wonderful thing for him to do, it does mean that he's going to be pretty sore on Sunday and Monday. It's good for him, though.

6. PWM made steaks, broccoli, buttered corn, and garlic bread for our dinner last night. It was a perfect birthday dinner!

7. A birthday tradition in our family is that my parents always sing Happy Birthday over the phone to me. In harmony. It makes me feel very loved.

How was your week? Check out 7 Quick Takes Friday to see what others have been up to!

Family Camp - 2011

We are home from Family Camp (Fort Wilderness, near Rhinelander)!  It was, as usual, a wonderful getaway for our family.  Here are some highlights (and I apologize for the dearth of photos – I just didn’t think to take pictures all the time like I usually do).

1. The bugs are always bad in the Northwoods in July, but they were out in more force than usual this year!!  Despite our best efforts to keep ourselves coated with DEET, the bugs still feasted on our blood!

2. I had two significant migraines this year at camp.  Ugh!  Usually, I have one bad one that really stops me from participating for a day or so.  This year, I missed the Family Carnival and the adult dessert because of the headaches.

3. Wild Man and I went to a Nature Center class on solar energy.  They had some toy Viking-style boats that had oars that turned when the sun hit the photo-voltaic cell.  We also saw a demonstration of how air in a black plastic bag (a very LONG plastic bag) heats up and starts to float upward.  Really cool.

4. PWM and I took several lovely long walks on various nature trails.  I had some sore feet by the end of the week, but it was worth it.

5. The mattresses are just not good for old people like me and PWM.  Thankfully, though, the soreness was much improved after the first night.

6. For the last couple of years, I’ve gone to Lumberjack Breakfast with Wild Man while PWM went with Rosie Girl on Wrangler’s Breakfast.  We can only do one special breakfast each, so this year, I decided to go with Rosie Girl and let PWM go with Wild Man.  Rosie Girl and I were up bright and early to go to the stables where we got on horse-drawn wagons that took us over to Blair Lake.  When we got there, staff members had our potatoes and bacon cooking on the griddle and were ready to make our eggs to order.  Delish!  And lots of fun!

 

7. Wild Man and PWM went to the lake where the Lumberjack breakfast group was met by “Jacques” (who bears an uncanny resemblance to the Nature Center guy) who took them on the trail to Cranberry Point while discussing the logging lifestyle of 150-200 years ago.  They ended by having pancakes made to order (with toppings) and bacon at Cranberry Point.  A wonderful breakfast was had by all!

8. On Monday, July 4, I missed breakfast because of the aforementioned migraine so PWM brought me a scone to eat before the morning session.  Rosie Girl said, “There must be Revolutionary War soldiers turning over in their graves right now!”  I asked why, and she answered, “Because we’re eating British scones on American Independence Day!”

9. Another mealtime funny: We were sitting before dinner with two other couples and Rosie Girl and Wild Man.  Wild Man had been playing all afternoon and was starving.  He drank two glasses of milk and then served himself some pears while we were waiting for the rest of the meal to be served.  Someone asked me to pass the pears and Wild Man said, “Those are pears?”  I asked, “What did you think they are?  You just ate them – didn’t you taste them?”  Wild Man answered (rather sheepishly), “I thought they were apples and I inhaled them so fast that I didn’t really taste them.  I’m hungry!!”  Crazy boy.

10. On Thursday, Wild Man won first place for his age group in both the Archery and Riflery tournaments!!  He won two free double-scoop ice creams, which worked out very well because he had spent all his money earlier on Thursday when he bought a T-shirt.  He had one ice cream on Thursday night and the other right before we left on Friday morning.

11. PWM got second place in the adult section of the Archery Tournament and won a single scoop of ice cream from the canteen!  Congratulations, PWM!!

12. PWM and I forgot to pack blankets!  The kids each had a sleeping bag, so they were comfortable.  On the first night and last night, it got really chilly and I slept in my jeans and sweatshirt as well as putting jackets and towels over myself to get warm.  This never happened when I went to camp in Florida – we were always hot!

 

How was your week?  Anything exciting happening?  How bad are the bugs and heat in your part of the world?

7 Quick Takes Friday–July 1, 2011

 

1. We go to Family Camp tomorrow!!  We’re all very excited and can’t wait to get there.  A week of no cooking, just hanging out with the hubby and kids (and a couple hundred other people), playing games, reading books, and (of course) knitting. 

2. I’ve had a migraine all day today, so PWM has been doing most of the house-cleaning and packing.  Thankfully, the kids are old enough to do their own packing.   I really hope the headache is gone by tomorrow because the one thing that’s worse than having a migraine when I’d rather be packing is having a migraine during the drive and first day of camp.

3. Our week has been consumed with The Knitting Nest.  We have the retail space now, but still need to get fixtures.  We met with our first yarn company rep this week, too.  Check out The Knitting Nest blog for more details.

4. I just finished an excellent biography on Adolf Hitler.  I’ll post a review later, but suffice it  to say that the man was truly evil.  I’m also reading a book by an author who is part of the Second Generation, those whose parents were Holocaust survivors.  Yet once again, I’m devastated by the reminder of how awful human beings can treat each other.

5. Rosie Girl is making a crochet backpack with a theme from one of her favorite anime shows.  I may wish that she’d be this diligent with her Geometry, but she certainly knows how to keep learning new things and trying new projects.  It’s also been fun to have her help with the library knitting club – the girls really look up to her!

6. Wild Man made chocolate-chip pancakes yesterday.  I could get used to him doing most of the cooking around here!  Mom cooked week before last and we’ve been eating those leftovers this week and now we’re going to camp where we will be fed three wonderful meals each day, with the option for an afternoon snack (mint chocolate chip ice cream for me) at the canteen.  [Insert deep sigh of contentment.]

7. The last Harry Potter movie comes out in two weeks!!  I don’t feel strongly about going to see it on the first day, and I really don’t want to see it in 3D (that can’t be good for someone who has migraines on a regular basis!), but I do think we’ll get to it within the first week.  PWM has been learning to use his lathe and he wants to use it to make replicas of the “Elder Wand” that he can sell.  He carved one by hand for Wild Man for Christmas and it’s just gorgeous.  I can’t wait to see how his work on the lathe goes!

Check out 7 Quick Takes Friday to see what others have been up to!

Our Week In Review - June 27, 2011

Several times this week, I really expected to see the animals coming 2 by 2 into an ark.  The rain and storms have been just crazy!  PWM and I are from down South where torrential rains aren't unheard of, but this kind of rain is not the norm here in Wisconsin.

For the next couple of months, these weekly reviews are going to be pretty sparse.  I'm chronicling our opening of The Knitting Nest over at The Knitting Nest blog, so you can click over there to see what other mischief we've been up to!

The big excitement this week was having my parents up for a visit.  My mom cooked and cooked and cooked some more - and there are no arguments from me because I love her food and I've been working pretty obsessively on this Fair Isle sweater for the County Fair (see The Knitting Nest blog for more details on the knitting projects).  Not only that, but she had Wild Man helping her and learning how to make some of his favorite dishes.

We've watched several of the Star Wars movies this week - at the kids' requests - and the new PBS/BBC Masterpiece Theater adaptations of Mansfield Park and Persuasion.  PWM received the new Lego "Pirates of the Caribbean" for Wii, so he and the kids have been having fun playing.

When the rain finally quit, Wild Man went out fishing - once with Grams and once with PWM.  He didn't catch anything, but he enjoys it.  He's still getting drum lessons once a week as well as having Youth Band practice on Sunday afternoon.  And, of course, he works at the Nutrition Site on Wednesday and helps the Children's Ministries Director on Sunday morning.  He has yet to tell me that he's bored - of course, that may just be because he knows how I'll respond (give him housework to do - there's never a shortage!). 

Rosie Girl just finished crocheting some juggling balls that look like tomatoes as a prop for her CosPlay for DaiShoCon this Fall.  (She's going to dress up as an anime character for the anime convention.)  Now she's working on a crocheted backpack.  In the last two weeks, she's been on two sleepovers.  It was good to have her home for a couple of days!

Rosie Girl is working diligently to finish Geometry and Japanese, although she didn't have as much opportunity this week since the grandparents were here.  Wild Man and I have not done any spelling yet.  I hope to do some review with him once or twice this week.  She is also driving a good bit so that she can get all  of her hours recorded

PWM has been sharpening all the tools for his new (well, new to him) lathe.  He's even done a little bit of turning.  It's good for him to have a creative outlet, particularly if he makes knitting needles that we can sell at the shop!

So, what about me?  I've had two big, bad migraines in the last few weeks.  Not fun.  Despite that, I've gotten a lot of knitting done as well as trying to read more about sheep and wool as well as how to be a successful entrepreneur.

Oh, and we got a car.  My Malibu gave up the ghost this Spring, so we've been driving PWM's mom's car.  We'd been looking for a few weeks, but found a Saturn VUE in good condition and in our price range (always a plus).  And, it's a standard transmission, so Rosie Girl will get to learn to drive it.

This week is going to be filled with more work at the shop and, perhaps, cleaning some fleeces to send to a mill for processing.  And, then, we get to go to Family Camp!!  I really can't wait for camp!  It's the one week when we are pretty much unplugged and have time to just relax and enjoy God's creation and our family.

Check out Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers to see how others are spending their summer!  And leave me a comment about what your family is up to!

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7 Quick Takes Friday - June 24, 2011

So, what's going on around here this week? Lots and lots and lots of fun! OK, some not-so-fun as well, but God is still good.

1. My parents are visiting this week. We have all really enjoyed having them here - and it certainly doesn't hurt that my Mom cooks for us!

2. The weather has been just atrocious this week! PWM and I are used to heavy rains, having lived our early lives in the Deep South, but we aren't used to seeing the heavy, drenching rains up here in Wisconsin. There are all kinds of flood watches and warnings now.

3. I had a big, bad migraine yesterday that left me just worn out today. And I feel another one coming on. Yuck!

4. It has been funny to watch Wild Man and Grams together this trip. Wild Man has grown several inches this year and is almost towering over my mom!

5. PWM has spent a good bit of time this week setting up his lathe working area in the garage and has even done a little bit of turning. I'm excited about getting some custom-made knitting needles!

6. Rosie Girl is such a musician! She played some of the theme from Lord of the Rings on her keyboard and recorded it. Then, she played ocarina while she played back the keyboard part. It was wonderful!!

7. Grams has been teaching Wild Man to cook several of his favorite dishes this week. No arguments from me!

Check out what others are saying at 7 Quick Takes Friday (note the temporary change in location)!

Thinking About The School Year

I’m a planner.  Normally, I’m such a planner that by this time of year, I’ve already planned the curriculum for next year and purchased it.  Then, during July and August, I plan things out week by week.  Whether we actually stick to the plan is a completely different story, but I like the planning.  It makes me feel secure.

Not this year.  In the hustle and bustle of starting a new business, I haven’t had much time to think about curriculum.  In fact, Wild Man didn’t get nearly as much of the last month of his curriculum done as I would have liked.  And Rosie Girl is going to do some Chemistry experiments in the Fall since they didn’t get done this Spring.

I think, though, that involving the kids in our shop is going to be at least as educational as any purchased curriculum that we could use.  Not only that, but Rosie Girl works quite independently and Wild Man is more and more independent each year.

Here’s what I’m thinking right now:

Rosie Girl

New Testament Survey

Sonlight Core 300 – 20th Century History

20th Century Literature

Research Paper Workshop (through Write At Home)

Japanese

The Science of Music (independent study)

Algebra 2

Piano

Tap Dance

Art 3 (at the high school)

Metals (Art class at the high school)

Community Service (helping our Worship Arts Director once a week)

Composing and Arranging (at Lawrence Academy of Music)

 

Wild Man

Bible (don’t know what I’m going to have him study, perhaps apologetics)

History – I think I’m going to have him do a largely self-directed unit study on weapons (his choice) for the first 9 weeks.  Then, I’ll have him do an abbreviated Core 6/7 or Overview of World History.  We’ll have to see.

Literature (from Sonlight Core 6/7)

Math (ALEKS)

Spelling (All About Spelling)

Institute for Excellence in Writing

Science – For the first quarter, he’ll be learning science in the unit study.  After that, who knows?

TaeKwonDo

Community Service (working at the Senior Nutrition Site)

At the end of the school year, I’ll see how much Rosie Girl has learned from helping us with the business and award credit.  I’m actually not very stressed out about the kids’ education right now.  Home education has been very successful thus far, and I see no reason why it shouldn’t continue to be.  I like to be very organized, but I’ve also seen how real life interrupts my plans.  I’m learning to be flexible – which is going to be important this next year!

7 Quick Takes Friday–June 17, 2011

 

 

1. The Knitting Nest is taking shape.  And, from now on, posts about my knitting projects and The Knitting Nest can be found at the Knitting Nest blog.  Check it out and add it to your feed reader if you want to keep up with our progress!

2. Rosie Girl turns 16 next week!!  Ack!!  It feels like it was just yesterday that she was a little toddler who loved to yell, “To infinity – and beyond!”

3. Wild Man is loving that I’m letting him have more media time during the summer.  But, when the weather is nice, I’ve been making him disconnect.

4. It’s going to be a busy week next week.  My parents are coming for a visit!  I’m sure they’re going to enjoy the break from the 90+ degree Florida weather!

5. Wild Man is becoming quite the cook.  He made apple pie this week with PWM’s help.  Wild Man also made spaghetti for dinner last night completely by himself.  I’m enjoying this self-sufficiency.

6. Rosie Girl has developed quite the social life.  She’s at her second sleepover of the week!

7. We have the windows open intermittently depending on the weather.  The cats love open windows and will sit in them and watch the squirrels and birds for hours.  When it’s too hot or cold for open windows, Sophie (usually, but occasionally the other two cats as well) cries and begs for us to open the kitchen window.  It’s rather pathetic!

Check out 7 Quick Takes Friday to see what others have been up to!

 

Embracing the Gray

And I don’t mean gray hair!

Do you ever wish that God gave us a textbook of systematic theology instead of the Bible?  I do.  I’m not sure why God chose to give us the Bible in the form it is in, but the consequence is that we have a lot to discuss about the Bible and what it means.  (I suspect that part of God’s intention was to force us to work at relationships instead of making it easy.  Kind of like marriage.  When a couple works through all kinds of difficulties and troubles, they usually end up with a better relationship in the long-run.)  It seems a little odd to me that the book that points us to Jesus is, in many ways, a story book.  Lots of stories.  Put together over a long period of time.  Sometimes it’s hard to know what a text actually means. 

The basic plan of salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection is pretty clear.  Beyond that, though, there are lots of places that are just difficult to understand.  Humans like, I think, to be certain about things.  As I grew up in Evangelicalism, I learned a lot of things that were very black and white (many from my church, less from my parents).

1. The earth is about 6000 years old and God created it and all life in six, literal, 24-hour days.

2. The flood was worldwide and all geological formations that we see were made by the flood.

3. People who engage in practices beside married heterosexuality can’t possibly be saved.

4. The plan for the end of the world is spelled out in Revelation, Daniel, and a couple of Paul’s letters and can be predicted, albeit not down to the day.

5. Baptism must be by immersion after someone prays the “Sinner’s Prayer”.

6. We can know about other people’s eternal situation based on whether or not they have prayed the “Sinner’s Prayer”.

As I’ve gotten older and more mature, I’ve learned that very few things are as black and white as I thought.  There are gray areas.  And it’s not necessarily bad.  I have changed my mind on some of my beliefs, but, while I still hold on to some others, I realize that believers in Jesus can and will have differences.

1. I believe that the scientific discoveries that show that the universe and earth are very old and that biological evolution occurred are the best explanations for origins.  But, others believe in an old earth but don’t accept that biological evolution occurred.  But, when we try to be true to the original meaning of the text by it’s original authors (inspired by God), what are the truths that we can get from Genesis 1-3?  Did Adam literally exist?  If not, what does that do to our interpretation of the New Testament references to Adam?  Origins is definitely a gray area.  There are lots of questions, few concrete answers, and lots and lots of opinions.

2. I believe that the story of Noah describes a local flood.  The science doesn’t support a worldwide flood, and the text is part of the early sections of Genesis that may or may not have contained literal descriptions of events.  That doesn’t mean that I believe that it’s unimportant or uninspired!  So, another gray area.

3. I think the Bible is pretty clear that we are only to express our sexuality through marriage to a partner of the opposite sex.  Yet, others disagree.  And they love Jesus.  (And, you have to admit that the examples of sexual relationships in the Old Testament show a much wider variety of “acceptable” sexual practices than we now have.  When a woman is raped nowadays, the perpetrator is (hopefully) brought to justice.  The biblical rules say that they should get married.  Strange.)  While I don’t consider this very gray in my world, I know others who worship Jesus and disagree.  But, I can still worship with them.

4. As we all saw a few weeks ago when the Rapture did NOT occur, there are widely varying opinions on when the world will end and how.  There are those who believe that the events foretold in Revelation have already occurred.  Others believe that Revelation needs to be understood symbolically.  This isn’t an issue that I spend much time and energy on.  It’s definitely a gray area.

5. I still believe that the Bible teaches baptism by immersion after someone has clearly accepted the Christian faith as their own.  Yet, I can see how paedo-baptism (infant baptism) got started and how it is still used in Reformed churches today.  And, apparently, some people do credo-baptism (baptism after the person has professed their faith), but still sprinkle.  The one part of the baptism controversy that is black and white to me is that baptism is NOT what saves us.  However, we can agree on salvation while still disagreeing about baptism.  More gray.

6. A person can know about their own eternal salvation because they can know what they believe and have a relationship with God.  However, we can’t know the eternal status of other people.  If you have seen any of the controversy about the book Love Wins (which I haven’t read), you will have seen how concerned people are to be sure they know what happens after death to other people.  Certainly, we can have some clue as to a person’s destiny, but we can only judge by what we can see on the outside.  God judges the inside.  And here’s what makes this really gray – what happens to people who have never heard the Gospel?  I don’t have the answer for that.  Paul says in one of his letters that those who haven’t heard still have the witness of nature.  Does that mean that God holds us responsible for what we know of Him?  Is there a time after death when people are given a chance to make the choice for salvation?  I think this is the most gray area in the Christian faith that I can think of.  I have far more questions than answers here. 

So, what do we do with all this “gray”?  We don’t run away from it.  Nor do we try to get rid of the gray and make those black and white lines that have become so much a part of Evangelicalism.  Rather, we need to embrace the uncertainty and limitedness of our knowledge and point instead to God, who knows everything, even if he’s not spelled it all out for us in detail.  Besides, would a God that you can understand be a God worthy of worship?

Embrace the gray.  Be willing to talk about these issues with other believers.  Give lots of grace to those who hold a different perspective.  Let’s get away from all the sniping and fussing and fear-mongering and instead focus on Jesus, who tells us to love one another.  Remember, Jesus said to lay down our burdens and take his burden because it is light.  I’m afraid that sometimes I get caught up in these peripheral issues (particularly origins) and forget the primary thing: Love.

Any thoughts?  Go out and Love some people tomorrow!

7 Quick Takes Friday–6/3/2011

The end of the week and the end of the school year!!

1. Rosie Girl has dance recital this weekend – 2 performances on Saturday and one on Sunday.  It’s a long weekend, but she’s only taking one class now which makes it easier.  I can’t wait to see the dance!

2. Wild Man made lasagna on Wednesday night for us for dinner.  I love that he’s old enough to cook.  But, I wonder where my sweet little baby boy went!

3. Next week sometime, our yarn shop will be officially incorporated!  We start renting our shop space in the middle of the month and hope we can open in early Fall.  Exciting!!

4. I bought some wonderfully beautiful yarn last weekend and I’m making a lace shawl from it.  Right now, I hope that I have enough yarn to finish.

5. We’ve been watching lots of Lord of the Rings.  Earlier this week, we watched the appendices to The Two Towers and tonight we watched The Return of the King.

6. Next week is time to clean the basement and garage.  I am so thrilled.

7. Tonight was high school graduation, so Rosie Girl went up to the school to watch her best friend graduate.  The friend will still be living in the area, so they’ll get to see each other next year, but not every day in the hall before Rosie Girl’s art class like they did this year.

Check out what others are saying at 7 Quick Takes Friday!

 

 

Adolescence

I am the mother of two adolescents!!  And, since we homeschool, I spend hours and hours each day with these adolescents.  And I love it!!  (Most of the time!)

Adolescents are physically, mentally, and emotionally become adults, but the brain and body don’t always develop at the same rate.  So, I have a thirteen year old boy who still loves watching cartoons (especially Phineas and Ferb) but wants to learn to cook and use power tools (not at the same time!).  Sometimes the hormones just seem to be on overdrive and emotions are completely uncontrollable.  And the next day, that excessively emotional teenager is very calmly driving me to the grocery store. 

I have read somewhere (and since this isn’t an academic paper, I don’t have to go track down my sources) that adolescence is a creation of the twentieth century.  Prior to this, teenagers were expected to transition from childhood to adulthood with minimal trouble.  It was largely the start of mass education that allowed childhood to continue into the late teens.  I agree that this is likely the case, but the body changes and hormones were still there.  It was just that teens didn’t have the luxury to “freak out” on occasion because they were expected to be acting as productive adults by that time.

Another book that I read recently (again, I don’t remember the source) said that kids often don’t feel like they are doing anything important, leading to some of the adolescent angst.  And, that’s not an unrealistic conclusion.  Most kids go to school to prepare for college, which seems a million years away, and then maybe work in a fast-food place or have other kinds of “unimportant” work.  The authors of this book recommend that kids become part of the adult world during their teen years by doing volunteer work or paid work that they see as having some value.

PWM and I love homeschooling because we can help them find places where they can learn to be part of the adult world.  Wild Man volunteers on Wednesdays at the Senior Nutrition Site to pack Meals on Wheels while Rosie Girl does some clerical-type work for our church’s Worship Arts director.  Wild Man is also busy every Sunday morning helping the Children’s Director at church with her skits for Children’s Church.  And both kids are going to be helping us open the yarn shop.

Sometimes I feel like I’m on a roller coaster with these kids – sometimes they’re children, other times they’re adults!  But, this is my job – helping them navigate all the changes going on as they become young adults and eventually leave home.  Excuse me now while I go cry over scrapbooks and baby pictures!

 

The End Of The School Year . . .

The end of the “school” year is upon us . . . and I’m feeling my usual guilt that we didn’t “do” enough.  I’m not feeling it as much with Rosie Girl because she works independently, but I definitely feel it with Wild Man.  What if he hasn’t learned enough?  What if he becomes a bum?  Worse, what if he can’t ever get a job and wants to live at home the rest of his life???  What if???

And then I’m reminded that most of our educational goals for our kids are not academic.  What do we want our kids to get from being homeschooled?

1. A strong grounding in the Christian faith and (hopefully) making their faith their own.

2. An appropriate self-image – confident enough to take risks and handle failure, but not overly confident and unable to handle the tough situations in life.

3. Good work ethic – they need to be willing to work, yet not get their self-worth from work.

4. Ability to communicate well and work with others – they need to respect others and be able to manage conflict by addressing it and not hiding from it.

5. Initiative to do what needs to be done.

6. Money management

Of all of those goals, only money management is particularly academic.  We do plan that our kids will have a high school education that will be academically strong enough to make them attractive to colleges.  But, whether they choose college or some other vocational track is between them and God.  (I’m sure we’ll give an opinion!)

I was reminded today of how much my kids learn even when we aren’t doing the academics the way that I’d like.  Wild Man did his laundry today without being asked.  Several years ago, I taught the kids to do their own laundry so that I could not worry about it when I had long migraines.  Rosie Girl has been good about doing hers without any prompting, but, until today, Wild Man often needed reminders.  The kids are splitting the lawn mowing tasks here at home and next door at Grandma’s (who is only going to have that house until early fall, but is paying the kids to mow the lawn this summer).  Rosie Girl also has a lawn mowing job with a neighbor and, it appears, will be teaching some piano lessons.

My kids aren’t perfect.  But, I’m pleased with their growth and development.  It’s really not of crucial importance that they can name the halogens or noble gases if they’re not going to be chemists.  It is crucial that they are willing to work, can be persistent with a project, can take the initiative (like Wild Man’s doing his own laundry), and can manage their money.

So, I’m not feeling so bad about my kids’ educations.  I just have to remind myself that learning to do laundry and cook dinner (which Wild Man did last night with PWM’s help and is doing tomorrow with my help) are at least as important as being able to name all the countries in Africa.

Sometime in the next few months I need to plan curriculum for next year.  I’m not sure when I’m going to get around to that because all my energy right now is focused on the yarn shop.  I figure that Wild Man and Rosie Girl will end up with some kind of “Entrepreneurship” credit on their transcripts – because they’re definitely going to be helping out with this venture!

 

P.S. The pictures don’t actually have anything to do with the post.  I figured since I like seeing pictures of the kids, then you would too!!

Lagniappe 5/25/2011

Just an update on what is going on in our little family.

• Wild Man got Rock Band Beatles for Wii for his birthday and it has become one of his favorite games.
• Rosie Girl is making bracelets with flags on them based on one of the anime shows that she watches.  She’s probably going to sell them on Etsy – I’ll post a link if she does.
• Wild Man is doing lots of practice on his drum set and he’s becoming pretty good.
• Wild Man has also been practicing bass guitar.
• After a visit with the accountant today, we’ve made some decisions about the yarn shop that mean that we may be able to get started without a bank loan.  Yippee!!
• The Weyauwega Fiber Arts Circle afternoons and evenings have been going great!  We had six women at the Circle this afternoon and three last week on Thursday afternoon.
• The elementary school knitting club is finished, but we’re going to be doing a knitting/crochet club at the library over the summer.
• I’m working diligently on my Fair Isle sweater, but it’s slow going.  Items for the County Fair have to be finished by July 26th, so I have to keep moving.
• PWM is knitting a hat and I’m learning crochet.
• Next week is stage rehearsal and dress rehearsal for Rosie Girl’s tap class.  It’s always a busy week, but worth it!

OK, that’s it.  Nothing deep today.

Things I Will Never Understand

Technically, I should title this “Things I Will Never Understand Until I Get To Heaven”, but that is a little too long and tedious.  But, here at 2:17am while I’m having some impressive insomnia, I’ll list some things that I’ve realized I’ll never understand.

1. Why Sophie (Rosie Girl’s cat) steals socks.  She certainly doesn’t wear them!
2. The Boson-Higgs particle
3. Why Sassy (the long-haired cat) thinks it’s such a victory that she conquered a hair elastic.
4. Why PWM loves me
5. Why Silver (the short-haired grey cat) believes that the laundry basket of clean clothes needs to be her bed.
6. Why Sophie and Sassy are addicted to packing tape.
7. Why I can’t sleep tonight.
8. “The physics of the thing!”  (Sorry, Dad, I’m still a physics novice!)
9. Wild Man’s love of all things gun-like.
10. Anime and Manga (sorry, Rosie Girl)
11. Why I have migraines (although I’m pretty sure I didn’t cause them)
12. Twitter
13. IPhones (I guess I’m not as tech-savvy as I thought)
14. Why I don’t like fruit (and many veggies)
15. The grace of God.

Do you have any to add?  Isn’t insomnia great?  I get all kinds of crazy things coming from my head when I don’t sleep!

Our Weekend, Including Mother’s Day

I’ve had better weekends.  The plan was for me to make Wild Man’s birthday cake on Friday so he could have his party on Saturday with his friends sleeping over, and then go to church on Sunday (Mother’s Day) where PWM, Rosie Girl, and Wild Man would all be playing during the worship music time.  So, did it happen like this?  Kind of.

On Friday, PWM was feeling awful with cold symptoms and a sore throat.  I was inclined to think it was just a cold until he developed a fever.  Since he was sick, I did the shopping for Wild Man’s party and then came home and made dinner and made Wild Man’s cake.  He didn’t want a lot of decorations on it, so I thought I’d just do a little writing on it Saturday morning.

PWM had an 8am appointment at the clinic where he was diagnosed with strep and given meds.  Yippee!!  (Not “yippee” that he had strep, but “yippee” that he could take meds for it instead of just having to wait it out.)  I woke up at about 8:30 with a migraine.  No big deal, I figured I’d take my meds and stay upstairs when the boys were inside and being loud.  Unfortunately, by 11am, I was vomiting and thought my head might explode.  So, my dear hubby took me off to the Emergency Room for treatment.

While we were there, he texted Rosie Girl that she was to be “in charge” when Wild Man’s friends got there.  The boys started arriving at 1pm, but PWM and I didn’t leave the Emergency Department until 2pm.  The ER staff was very helpful.  The doctor who saw me is one whom I’ve seen before (and I think he started there before I quit working).  He commented that I hadn’t been to the ER in “a coon’s age” – which is, thankfully, true.  My last couple of bad migraines that required intervention were during clinic hours and I could get meds there.  In any case, it took a lot of meds and fluids to get things calmed down.

We got home to find five adolescent boys running around playing.  And they were ready for cake!  So, we had presents and cake and ice cream before I went upstairs.  I slept for about 4 hours and then spent most of the rest of the afternoon/evening upstairs with one of the cats (who did NOT like having strangers around).

The boys were in their sleeping bags by 11, although I don’t think they were asleep quite that soon.  I didn’t get  up this morning till 10:30, but I know that everyone had to be at church at 7am, so Wild Man, all his friends, Rosie Girl, and PWM were out the door by 6:30am.

Since I got up so late, I’m missing the Mother’s Day festivities at church.  But, really, I’m just glad the migraine is better.  I haven’t had one that bad in quite a while.  And, I have to say that Wild Man has some good friends.  They prayed before they ate dinner (without having a parent tell them to), their arguments and fussing were minimal, and they were all very respectful to me and PWM. 

I think we’re going to have a quiet day  at home today.  We might take a walk later.  Otherwise, we’re going to have Chinese take-out, hang out together, and watch the finale of The Amazing Race.

So, how has your Mother’s Day been?  Anything exciting planned?

7 Quick Takes Friday–The “I Can’t Believe I Have 2 Teenagers” Edition

1. I am now on the sixth day of being the mother of two teenagers.  I don’t think we can afford it.  Wild Man has taken to eating like a Hobbit, although he’s got more height and less foot hair than a hobbit.  He would eat breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, supper, dinner, and dessert if he could!

2. God is laughing at me.  As I teenager and young adult, I would say that I didn’t want to marry an engineer or a pastor and I wanted to be employed, not run my own business (or practice).  My husband has a degree in electrical engineering and is an elder.  And we’re going to open a yarn store.  This was definitely not in the plan I had for my life.  (Of course, neither were debilitating headaches.)  But, God is in control of everything, so I’m just going to sit back and enjoy the ride.  And laugh right along with Him!

3. I finished a really fun pair of socks for myself this week.  I need to block them before I wear them.  However, I’m thinking about entering them in the County Fair, so I might not wear them until Fall.  Which wouldn’t be too bad since they’re wool.

4. On Sunday morning, the other three members of the family are all going to be playing music for worship.  PWM plays bass guitar almost every week with the worship team.  Rosie Girl is joining them on keyboards this week since the person originally scheduled had to cancel.  And, since it’s Mother’s Day, the teen band is going to play, with Wild Man on drums.

5. Tomorrow is Wild Man’s birthday party!!  We’re going to have five boys running around playing Nerf Dart War.  And eating.  I bought lots and lots of food!

6. The weather was sunny and 65 degrees today.  Is spring actually going to stick around this time??

7. I made Wild Man a yellow cake with chocolate icing for tomorrow.  It’s on a big cake stand, so I can’t put it in the cabinet.  I loosely covered it with aluminum foil, not because it will go bad, but because one of our crazy cats likes chocolate and I’m afraid she would decide to eat icing till she got sick.  So, the foil is to scare her off with the noise if she gets too close.

So, how has your week been?  Check out 7 Quick Takes Friday to see what others are up to!!

Lagniappe–5/4/2011

1. We had ten kids at knitting club yesterday – it was a blast!!  Of course, now I’m exhausted and sore from leaning over kids to help them knit.  Last week, we got the first nine casting on.  This week, we got those nine knitting.  We had another girl in the club and she learned to cast on and to knit all in one day.  I’m going to see if the kids are interested in continuing through the summer at the library.  I’m honestly having a lot more fun than I expected with this project.

2. I’m going to start on the rest of my Fair Isle sweater soon.  I was going to start last night until I realized that the socks I’m knitting are on one of the needles that I need.  Oops!

3. I’m working on a business plan and spreadsheet for our yarn shop venture.  Wow – I’m learning a ton!

4. We still have the Christmas lights inside the house and around the front door up.  I think we’ll try to get those taken care of in the next few days!

5. Wild Man turned 13 on Sunday.  He’s having a Nerf Darts party on Saturday.  I’m so not ready for this!

6. Along with turning 13, Wild Man’s appetite seems to be increasing.  Since breakfast this morning, he’s had lunch at the Senior Nutrition Site and then the equivalent of two more meals here at home.  I’m not sure if we’ll be afford to keep him!!

7. We finally got some sunshine today!!  Yippee!!  At the rate we were going, I was afraid we’d all be Vitamin D deficient in month or so.