Games on the go

Years ago I stumbled upon a blog about gameschooling.  I was intrigued.  We don't homeschool.  But we can play games ... and learn while we're doing so. 

Thursdays we go from school pickup to the university speech clinic.  BK and I play games for an hour.  Then we go to BK's swim lessons, and LM and I entertain ourselves by reading (& snacking, to be honest). 

What games do I pack on Thursdays?

Blokus to go is a favorite. 

No Stress Chess is another. 

And sometimes BK just takes a tub of army guys, and I take a Mitford book. :) 

What are your favorite games on the go? 

 

All the things left undone

It's easy to think about all the things we haven't done ... like fix the Kitchen Aid or the oven or clean the basement, etc. 

The same with Christmas. It's easy to think about what we didn't do.  But what did we do?  I read an Advent devotional for the first time in several years, and it was good for my soul.  We attended our church musical program (& all four sat through all of it!).  We spent one day with Jim's side, and a week with my side.  Did we make cookies? send cards? read our Christmas picture books each night? do our Names of God paper chain? No. Did we remember the birth of our Savior, the celebration of God becoming man, to dwell with us and say 'no' to every temptation so that He could be our sacrifice for sin? Yes.  Did we enjoy time with family? Yes. 

I wrote this on February 6th, and noted that sure, many goals have gone undone.  But what had we done? Eaten well even without an oven. ;) Learned how to cook with an air fryer.  Eaten down the freezer & pantry.  Picked up 1/4 hog.  Had too many medical appointments to count.  Started the lengthy process for each referral that has come up.  Kept making progress in discovering what will best help each of our children.  Ordered eye glasses for one!  

What about you? Do you tend to look at what you haven't accomplished or what you have accomplished?

Recent books

"Are you taking any books?" a friend asked in advance of our trip to Florida last month. 

"I'll take one or two, but I can't imagine I'll have time to read," was my reply.

In a happy twist, I did read two books!  Thanks to Jim watching the children swim a few afternoons & LM taking an unexpected nap one day, I completed the 320 pages of Timothy Keller: His Spiritual & Intellectual Formation in record time, and found it riveting!  I'm looking for any friends who have read it, so I can discuss it with them.  I folded the corners on so many pages, and want to go back and see why. ;)

I also took a paperback copy of At Home in Mitford, which I read for the umpteenth time here & there along the way.  I recently completed my hardback collection of the Mitford series (thanks to garage sales & thrift stores), but was very glad I took a paperback copy from Goodwill with me, as it was in our beach bag and got quite wet!  Mitford is such a comforting series.  

Our children received some books recently, and I asked the giver if they have a Christian bookstore. Sadly, like all of us, they do not. Amazon it is.  But if one doesn't know how to search on Amazon, one doesn't find the great books.  

LM received three biographies from the Do Great Things for God series from The Good Book Company!

BK received three of the Bible Infographics for Kids books from Harvest, along with the activity book.  

Songs of a Warrior, Saul and David: A Retelling is next on our read-aloud list. (There's also a Christmas book.)

The Squire & the Scroll is another one that is currently on our kitchen table.  A friend suggested it. It looked familiar.  I checked our shelves.  And, sure enough, my sister had given it to us after her children were finished reading it.  From the book's description: "Children will gain valuable insight as they learn, along with the young squire, what it means to face the dangers of temptation, and what it takes to guard one's heart from all that is impure."  Amen!

I am reading God Is Still Good: Gospel Hope and Comfort for the Unexpected Sorrows of Motherhood, by Katie Faris, author of my book of the year for 2022, He Will Be Enough.  There have been several articles published lately by Katie as well as interviews & podcasts, so you could search for those instead of reading the book, or to see if you want to read the book.  Her website includes this beautiful Truth & Lie chart.  

I have a dream to open a lending library (among other things), and maybe one day I will (or won't). But in the meantime, we will read. :) 

What have you read lately?

I'm back

It's been years since I posted as few blog posts as I did in February.  

We drove to Florida and back Feb. 16-26.  Today I feel like I'm back in the saddle on the homefront, although I still have not caught up on laundry.  It feels good to have a day at home.  

"It's not a vacation; it's a trip," is some advice we received some years back from friends a few years ahead of us on the parenting journey.  I concur!  We made lots of memories. We had family time.  We enjoyed the change of pace & place.  We had lots of nice experiences.  And we even saw friends & relatives.  And it was a vacation for the children. :) 

We missed our church!!  We are in the midst of the annual 6 weeks of elective classes in adult Sunday School.  This year there are so many good ones to choose from.  The week before we left, we were on a panel in the foster & adoption elective.  Yesterday I was the speaker in the missions elective, which was good for my soul ... to think about missions and what would be helpful to share.  

Jim & I collectively (& even the children) have spent a lot of hours at the Honda dealership, with even more coming up, as both vehicles were due for maintenance & tires. 

And, as always, we have appointments.  In the next two weeks, I am to see the eye doctor, local rheumatologist, local dermatologist, and have a hair appointment and mammogram.  Jim has a dentist appointment, and BK has an audiologist appointment (70 miles away). 

Jim & I both attended Parent-Teacher Conferences, and that has propelled us to think about the big picture of education.  I'll just say that we expected agenda, but we assumed the 3Rs would be taught & taught well.  I'm still in the midst of investigating ... listening to the key players in our district to understand the current philosophy & trajectory, asking educational experts I know in other places about the long-term benefit (or fallout) of current philosophy & practices, and thinking and praying.  

Spring is coming!  And we are glad!  Hopefully we will have great weather during spring break and can enjoy some closer-to-home outings that week!

Certificate Binder

What to do with all the papers your children bring home?! 

I have to ask myself, "Do I wish my parents had saved any of my kindergarten papers for me?" No.  So, into the trash they go. :)

Each child does have a small keepsake box with some special baby gifts, Awana vest with badges, etc. 

And on the top of our tall bookcase in the living room lives the Certificate Binder.  It's just a 1.5" 3-ring binder filled with sheet protectors.  

It started out when BK's teacher would send home a page of photos from special events at school or field trips.  We have pages with dozens of photos from bowling, a field trip to the University greenhouse, making apple muffins, visiting the apple orchard, and tractor day (both 2018 & 2019 tractor days!).  Attending a Listening & Spoken Language school, each photo page allowed the parents to ask appropriate questions after school so the child could practice using spoken language & new vocabulary. 

We started saving them in sheet protectors in a binder.  

Over time, we added random certificates that came home from school.  And then he started swim lessons and was given a paper to keep each coveted sticker on until he reaches level 10.  

BK graduated from his first school, but the Certificate Binder continues to keep awards from school, the class photo each year, the group photo that comes home from day camp at a local Bible camp, LM's swim certificates each summer, Awana certificates, LM's 1000 Books Before Kindergarten pages, etc. 

Both children delight in looking through the Certificate Binder, whenever I get it down off the tall shelf.  

What do you save for your children? Where do you save it?

Prayer Meeting

Crossway recently published an article with a provocative title, "Who Killed the Prayer Meeting?"

I was reminded of an article (or audio message on cassette tape possibly) by Jerry Bridges about prayer and prayer meetings.  

He said there's nothing wrong with praying for our friend to find a job or for our aunt's big toe.  But we need to remember that this is war.  And in war, there are strategic, tactical, and logistical needs & priorities.  

In the same way, when we pray, we need to pray for strategic, tactical, and logistical needs of the Kingdom.

1000 Gifts, Vol. 7, #79

781.  finally making progress on the learning curve with my new computer

782.  slow, steady progress on the piles in our home

783.  sharing outgrown clothes with the next families in our hand-me-down chains

784.  even having surplus to share a current size

785.  SUNSHINE on this coldest week of winter 2023 yet

786.  new avenues of help opening up for various needs in our family

787.  great new children's books in our church's library

788.  Moms in Prayer for our school

789.  "Take my life and let it be"

790.  the freedom, release, joy, and peace that comes from repentance & forgiveness