Money Hunting

My children have been hunting the house for money, in corners, under beds and couch cushions. We have a jar that we are working on for the year to fill and use for Samaritan's purse. Although we and the children are allowed to put our own money in it, which we all have done, it's mostly the answer to my "where do I put all the change I find in the wash" dilemma. I find change annoying which also makes me feel slightly guilty b/c I always remember my dad saying, "A penny saved is a penny earned." And I also think of the woman in Jesus' parable who turned the house upside down looking for change, and the widow with her mite. Well, these are our mites which we are thankful the Lord has provided abundantly for us, unlike the widow. Perhaps He will use them to provide for a widow. Who knows?!

We have also been praying for missionaries. Here's how it goes in our house:

Wally: Today we're going to pray for the Hobsons.
Alden: Who do you want to win? (this is a common question at breakfast time b/c Wally often reads the sports section of the news).
Wally: Jesus
Alden: Well, He will win.

Isn't it good to hear that? I think so!

Homeschooling it, we've been learning a whole range of  things. Insect week was fun but ill timed. However, the weather hit a warm spell and we actually found some insects in February (no roaches!). I was feeling a little bad that I hadn't planned a fun insect project for them when I came outside to excited, "Mommy, look what we made" noises.

Independent school project. It's a "bug house" to keep the bugs safe and dry and cool.

I can never stop being amazed at how homeschooling allows for so much freedom and time for them to do creative things like this on their own. Just when I start feeling guilty that I'm not doing enough, they surprise me by coming up with their own efforts.Yes, I know it looks like a pile of trash to the naked eye, but this took good work and design on their part along with cooperation. It's times like these that God reminds me that the whole outcome of this endeavor is in His hands, not mine, and I almost hear Him say, "So would you please back off and stop worrying?".

Alden found a patent leather beetle to put in the bug house.

I've been reading Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner to the kids during snack time. Rhianwen has both books on cd, which is the best audiobook I think I have ever listened to (and we listen to many of those)! So, she has whole sections practically memorized. Here she is reciting the section about the Expotition (Christopher Robin's spelling) to the North Pole:




She's a funny one. The other day she said, "When I was a baby, this day was a long long time ago." I laughed.

She said, "I don't think you know what I mean."

"Yes, I do," I said.

"I don't even know what I mean," she concluded.

Corwee making Valentines. He loves glitter!

Winter weather in NC. One week it's feeling warm and springlike, the next week we get ice and snow. We have had a ton of rain. Our yard is full of mud and water and now holes and buckets from the kids. I've given up on having anything but a man-kid yard.


And on one of the many rainy days they made a cave. It reminded me of rats the way they pulled all kinds of materials, toys, and furniture and piled it up for their den.

Corwin has been very LOUD recently. When we sit down to read, he either tries to wrestle or sword fight with Alden (think lots of hitting Alden on the head while he tries pretty unsuccessfully to listen) or he comes and sits in my lap, looks at the book I'm reading, latches onto a word, such as bones (for a real life example), and yells and points, "BONES! BONES! BONES!". He gets louder and louder until you acknowledge him, but then he finds a new place to point and starts all over again. I haven't figured out a way to teach over top of this noise without either a lot of yelling to compete for airspace, pulling out a very messy activity like play-doh or lentils, or putting him in his room with a pile of books and shutting the door for 5 minutes. We're all ready for a break at the end of the school day!

But his belly laugh makes up for a lot of it :)