tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60895746148301918142012-02-17T11:50:14.900-05:00Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.comBlogger8271100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-91326224360525603332012-02-17T07:09:00.001-05:002012-02-17T07:10:41.538-05:00

When I think of what homeschooling could be, I insist on picturing all my children sitting calmly around me as I read a scintillating book full of deep truths and wisdom. The only interruptions of this reading would consist of a thoughtful child raising his hand to point out an element of symbolism we might have missed otherwise, or my stopping to point out thematic elements that can relate to

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-79269980846698783312012-02-16T11:43:00.000-05:002012-02-16T11:43:34.801-05:00

"When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude."  -- G.K. Chesterton Once again I'm taking Joi/Thursday to write the things I am thankful for, as part of the Joy Dare, inspired by Ann Voskamp.  It has been a relatively quiet week, and another blustery, cold week, but there is still much to praise God for, such as... + coming in one

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-39940164370893810562012-02-15T14:22:00.000-05:002012-02-15T14:22:31.594-05:00

Our "simple life" has gotten a touch more busy with Pete working so much now!  For the month of February, he's scheduled for 17 hours per week of instructional time -- almost double the load he usually has at home.  Since he's gone a lot Monday-Friday, and keeping the house up is more than I can handle on my own (thanks to 2 hairy dogs, the fine black dust that keeps settling on everything, the

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-80487672387484550862012-02-14T09:44:00.000-05:002012-02-14T09:44:40.283-05:00

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-44423193971730550012012-02-13T06:02:00.001-05:002012-02-13T06:03:03.647-05:00

Last night Pete and I finally escaped sans kiddos for a dinner out!  A master’s student Pete had met at the Fulbright orientation meetings invited some of the Fulbrighters as well as some Peace Corps volunteers in the area over to his place, so despite my skepticism that a young guy could cook a decent meal for all of us, we accepted the invitation and taxied on over. Besides us, the attendees

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-40986907951663707082012-02-11T09:40:00.001-05:002012-02-11T09:41:08.585-05:00

I realized today that we have been here for over a month now.  A long time ago, when we were first planning this trip, certain members of my family voiced their beliefs that there was "no way" I would actually go through it.  (My non-adventurousness and need-for-control-ishness are clearly evident to all who know me well -- not to mention the facts that I dislike flying immensely, and any kind of

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-15741047517201046642012-02-10T14:58:00.008-05:002012-02-10T15:03:52.361-05:00

This week while Peter has been off at work, the kids and I have had the opportunities to get to know some Moldovan women a little better, which has been very enjoyable!  One has come over several times to help me out, another one came to cut the boys' hair (yay, in-home haircuts!), and one is our language teacher. We've loved hearing their insights on Moldovan culture and the recent, rather

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-69134604913090619122012-02-09T11:51:00.004-05:002012-02-15T04:48:43.929-05:00

This is the 4th Thursday (Joi) that I've sat down to record some of the week's "joys"... but today I don't even have to reach for my notebook/list.  There is more than enough to list just from living this day-- Milo's 3rd birthday!  So here are some of the things that I am thankful for today: + Older siblings who wanted to make decorations for their younger brother + Hearing the delight in

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-15426983967022982412012-02-08T09:07:00.000-05:002012-02-08T09:07:26.761-05:00

Well, Miles, it's finally almost here!  You get to turn 3 tomorrow.  We know you'd rather be 4 or 5, or really 20, but we hope you enjoy 3 anyway.  We love how grown up you've become, full of opinions, ideas, and directives for the rest of us.  And yet still you are our snuggler -- ready to hold one of our shirts and suck your thumb at any time.  I love how well you hug us. You are very

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-29748679107869862492012-02-07T07:04:00.000-05:002012-02-07T07:04:31.931-05:00

Yesterday as I was sitting in church listening to the man in front of me speaking in Russian so passionately about something I couldn’t even remotely understand – not even one syllable – I pondered how frustrating a lack of a common language can be.   I was reminded of the scene at the Tower of Babel – how confusing and debilitating it must have been to have everyone suddenly so unintelligible

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-21990384688372269792012-02-06T06:04:00.007-05:002012-02-06T06:09:18.704-05:00

The thermometer soared up into the balmy 20’s today, so the whole family grasped the opportunity to visit the Russian-speaking church that Pete and Strider attended a few weeks ago.  We all found it to be a very welcoming, happy place!  We clearly stuck out as visitors in this congregation of about 70 people, and people were eager to greet us – and give the kids pieces of candy.  (I think we’ll

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-10174589680046354832012-02-04T08:31:00.002-05:002012-02-04T08:33:02.660-05:00

Pete wrote recently about how we're learning Romanian.  We chose this language to learn (as opposed to Russian) because we figured it would be relatively easy to learn, since we'd at least already know the alphabet.  After only a few official lessons I can now say that there are several factors that conspire to disprove that theory. Here's what I've realized so far: 1.  Pretty much all of the

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-11147198984716633132012-02-03T04:29:00.004-05:002012-02-03T05:16:58.938-05:00

Pete:  Miles, you're going to be 3 soon. Miles:  I'm going to be 3 in a few minutes?? ** Strider: Colsen, who are you going to marry? Colsen:  I'm going to wait until I'm 16, and then I'll select a wife. Strider:  You can't get married when you're 16! Colsen:  No, I said I'm going to select who I'm going to marry when I'm 16, but then I'm not going to get married until I'm 20! ** Rayna:  Did

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-65021095064879339812012-02-02T09:39:00.000-05:002012-02-02T09:39:08.348-05:00

It is once again the day of the week known as Joi 'round these parts, so in an effort to continue to distract myself from the fact that it is now February, my hands-down least favorite month of the calendar, I continue on with my Joy Journal.  (I'm now on #113!) Here are some of my entries from this week: + warm pipes running under the floors + knowing that we can "put on" compassion, kindness,

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-10802478627151293772012-02-01T11:51:00.000-05:002012-02-01T11:51:14.975-05:00

Last year I kept a record of what we did on our 100th day of school, so I thought I'd do it again this year.  (We like any reason to celebrate something special!) Can you tell what number we're making here?! Today, along with our regular school activities, we have... -- read Psalm 100 aloud (and the kids took the "make a joyful noise" part a little bit too far) -- throughout the day done 100

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-33943540218063936472012-01-30T14:14:00.000-05:002012-01-30T14:14:43.624-05:00

This is supposed to be Pete's sabbatical semester from teaching his normal routine, but at this point it's  really feeling like a "sabbatical" for our whole family.  We are all way outside our normal routines and feel like a little family-unit island.  We miss our friends and family back home, but I have to say it's been a nice break not having all of the regular classes, activities, sports,

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-41725830851935534322012-01-29T15:20:00.000-05:002012-01-29T15:20:50.443-05:00

I am very pleased to announce that my husband has decided to join the blogging world.  It turns out that European Peter is much more prone to writing than American Peter. So for those of you wanting another perspective on our life in Moldova, feel free to check out http://franklyspeaking-pete.blogspot.com/. Pete's perspective tends to be slightly significantly different than mine.  We have an

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-78954357932493630742012-01-28T12:12:00.001-05:002012-01-30T06:17:19.281-05:00

Yesterday Pete took Rayna and Colsen on a little excursion to the National Museum.  Since the temperature high was 16 degrees for the day, and the trip involved having to walk several blocks to the bus stop and several blocks after getting off the bus, the other 3 members of the family opted to stay home. They say they had a great time!  The admission price to get in the museum was a good deal--

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-64840945608374448932012-01-27T13:33:00.001-05:002012-01-27T14:22:16.364-05:00

Moldovans, in our experience so far, seem to be rather serious and un-smiley when they're out in public.  We've tried many times to smile and say hello (even in Romanian!) to people we meet on the street, but we're usually ignored. So when Pete took a couple of the kids out on a little field trip this afternoon, he had to laugh at Rayna.  As she boarded the marshrutka (which is basically a small

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-73559040027572823312012-01-26T08:02:00.001-05:002012-01-26T08:47:39.457-05:00

Continuing on with the Joy Dare, here are some things I've been thankful for this week... + Meeting some more local Moldovans, including the neighbor across the street + Cheap ice cream everywhere!  And inexpensive bread, too.  What else do we need? + Seeing Strider step up to help in many ways. + Fun time with other English-speaking women at a coffee shop+ Snuggling into flannel sheets on cold

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-24079825243723219212012-01-25T08:05:00.001-05:002012-01-25T09:50:12.212-05:00

The neighborhood we're in here is so hard to describe.  Like the rest of the country, it seems to be full of contrasts.  Some of the houses are large and beautiful, and some appear to be more like.... well, Strider asked what all the "shacks" were.  I took my camera upstairs and took pictures through the windows in each of our bedrooms to give a version of a 360 degree tour.  Here's what we can

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-65888451859606048242012-01-23T06:26:00.000-05:002012-01-23T06:26:51.612-05:00

Yesterday Pete and Strider went to a Russian-speaking church (which they thoroughly enjoyed with the help of a translator), and while they were gone the rest of us decided to explore our new neighborhood a little bit.  We walked around the little block and saw all kinds of interesting sights...  (Inside the green gate we spotted some of the roosters that we hear sometimes -- and some

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-91670750764640019622012-01-20T15:01:00.002-05:002012-01-20T15:13:06.423-05:00

Within walking distance of our house, there is a large, semi-open market.  A few days ago Pete, Rayna and I trudged through the snow to this market to get photos taken of Rayna and me for our embassy registration papers.  (Pete and the boys had done this the week before.) The whole area is full of little booths with individuals selling their wares, sort of like a giant flea market all compacted

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-20621230724816773962012-01-19T05:40:00.000-05:002012-01-19T05:40:25.224-05:00

I've committed to doing Ann Voskamp's "Joy Dare" this year, which is essentially listing 1000 gifts to be thankful for in 2012.  It seemed appropriate to do this year, with my desire to find joy in the journey and all.  So far I'm on # 65.... so only 935 more to go! And I figured that since Thursday is Joi here, I'd share some items from my Joy list today.  (Not all 65, don't worry.)  Here are

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-82012999941980651262012-01-17T12:28:00.002-05:002012-01-17T12:46:56.521-05:00

Our theme for this trip, we decided several months ago, would be a determination to find JOY, even when things were crazy/hard/incomprehensible.  I knew we would face a few extra challenges during these months, and it's easy for me to become overwhelmed and discouraged by it all, if I don't come at it with the right perspective. One of the extra challenges I knew we would be taking on was in the

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-2569869026418726192012-01-16T11:37:00.000-05:002012-01-16T11:37:12.308-05:00

This past Saturday was a New Year's celebration here.  From what I can gather, not only is this young country (only independent since 1991) trying to meld 2 languages and political ideologies, but they are also operating off of two different calendars.  In addition to the one we are used to, there is also an "old" calendar (Orthodox, I believe) that has holidays falling on different dates.  I

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-49913832696989367142012-01-15T06:15:00.000-05:002012-01-15T06:15:16.204-05:00

There was a time, which seems not too long ago, when Pete and I each traveled to Europe (not at the same time), carrying only one large backpack (each). I found this old picture of Pete, but couldn't find any of me (bummer): Traveling from country to country, youth hostel to youth hostel, was easy in general;  packing up was simple. THIS time, however, as we go from place to place, Pete looks

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-71991583550301082812012-01-13T08:50:00.001-05:002012-01-13T08:52:05.298-05:00

Since the apartment we're staying in this week is right in the center city, we've been taking the opportunites to do some urban exploration.  Each morning we've walked for an hour or more -- the kids have been strong and cheerful (although Strider may not look like it below) walkers so we've been able to see a lot. The boys loooove all the pigeons.  Rayna, not so much. The statue above is

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-70916393318454415932012-01-12T10:06:00.001-05:002012-01-12T10:11:38.436-05:00

The females of the Frank family arrived yesterday!  Our trip was relatively simple and Rayna was an excellent little travel buddy.  She insisted on wanting to take both of our carry-on bags everywhere we went... even when I had to wake her up after 3 hours of sleep for the night to go from one flight to the other, she wanted to strap on her very heavy back-pack and was ready to go!  In the Munich

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-10302636585652968362012-01-09T17:10:00.000-05:002012-01-09T17:10:48.629-05:00

Pete finally sent me some pictures so I can see how life is going for them over there...  This first one cracked me up.  After a few nights of everyone not sleeping well, Pete decided to get a little more aggressive and woke the boys up earlier than they wanted to get up.... obviously: Once they were up and about, though, they were ready to explore. The big highlights were seeing some Christmas

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-34754124204270383802012-01-08T16:02:00.004-05:002012-01-08T16:05:12.761-05:00

Pete and the boys made it Chisinau without any major mishaps... although Pete said the flights felt veerrrrry long, thanks to some rather wild little boys who only slept in little spurts and woke up crying repeatedly... Anyway, they're happy to have arrived in the apartment there! Thanks to the wonder of MagicJack, calling them is as easy as it was when they were here, so I've been in contact

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-358709150690226942012-01-05T21:42:00.001-05:002012-01-06T09:32:16.860-05:00

Pete and the boys had a big send-off at the airport today! As I type this, they are half-way to Munich and should (hopefully) arrive in Chisinau by tomorrow morning (EST).  Hopefully the boys are sleeping at least a little!  Pete definitely has his hands full... (special thanks to my sister Karin for taking these pics!)

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-72741758000276479212012-01-01T16:38:00.001-05:002012-01-01T16:39:13.532-05:00

A week ago, as parting words before our (scheduled) big trip, our friend Howard told us about something he'd heard about from the world of acting improv.  Apparently, when someone is on stage and then another actor joins him with a new, crazy story-line or event (such as "Hey, look, a busload of clowns just got in a car accident!"), the actor who was already on stage has 2 choices:  he can block

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-24976376038073322392011-12-29T19:10:00.001-05:002011-12-29T19:12:59.642-05:00

I am writing this on Thursday evening, at the time we had expected we would be flying over the Atlantic Ocean, beginning our big Moldovan journey.  Those plans came to a screeching halt yesterday morning, though, and we are, instead, still home... though I'm realizing the journey has already begun. Yesterday, we suddenly had to call the paramedics for one of our children, and experienced a scary

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-34010545496475356612011-12-26T20:23:00.000-05:002011-12-26T20:23:26.576-05:00

We are now in fast-forward mode getting ready for our trip  -- in 3.5 days! -- so I have no time to write anything thoughtful, profound or mundane.  Pictures will have to speak for themselves... but I will say as a summary that we greatly enjoyed celebrating our Savior's birth! It was a quieter year for us -- in fact, it was the first Christmas Eve any of us have ever spent without extended

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-8048460474155947262011-12-24T13:11:00.001-05:002011-12-24T13:12:35.807-05:00

Now we just need some gold and myrrh...

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-90675222236558930602011-12-23T17:12:00.001-05:002011-12-23T17:26:57.114-05:00

Borax has become a basic staple in my house as I use it to make various cleaning concoctions (disinfectant, toilet cleaner, laundry aid, etc) but I had never made something pretty with it before!  I saw on some web site or Pinterest or somewhere (now I've forgotten where!) that someone made Christmas ornaments with just pipe cleaners and Borax... and that sounded like just the kind of craft I

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-47212899919230788162011-12-22T20:34:00.001-05:002011-12-22T20:35:01.537-05:00

I had the best birthday ever this year!  They just keep getting better and better (and my mom assures me this will continue indefinitely).  2 cakes, thoughtful gifts from my children and husband, time away to relax, and time to celebrate with my extended family -- it was all good! One highlight was blowing out the candle app (since no actual candles could be located)!  I had never blown out an

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-78767297104089224162011-12-20T20:44:00.000-05:002011-12-20T20:44:50.167-05:00

One of my favorite Advent activities is reading special books all together as a family.  There are many great Christmas books out there of course, but here are our 2 current favorites: 1.  Papa Panov's Special Day This has been one of the kids' fave's for a few years now... and I can never get through it without tearing up (which they kids always think is weird).  But maybe the best part is just

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-78330011628209761002011-12-16T19:48:00.004-05:002011-12-16T19:57:27.708-05:00

I've written down pieces of this story at various times before, but the whole thing has become just so bizarre that I wanted to get it all in one place. Awhile back I was introduced by email to an American missionary in Chisinau, the city we will be living in, by a friend of a friend.  (My friend lives in Kenya and her friend lives in Mozambique, so that was kind of random.)  Once I was in

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-22025336370308171162011-12-14T14:23:00.000-05:002011-12-14T14:23:10.508-05:00

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-86505680381222615712011-12-12T17:33:00.000-05:002011-12-12T17:33:14.993-05:00

Strider:  Colsen! Stop copying me all the time!Colsen:  I don't!  Well, sometimes you copy me.Strider:  No, I don't.  Colsen:  You never copy me?  NEVER??Strider:  Never.Colsen:  There -- see, you just did! Gotcha!

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-15137471348827822292011-12-12T14:45:00.001-05:002011-12-12T14:48:28.399-05:00

What an unusually festive season we've had!  Some of us went to a couple more parties this weekend, but the big one was this one-- at the Drescher's: Colsen and Rayna had a great time!  It was mostly a girl party, so Rayna loooved finally being surrounded by girls.  According to the reports I heard, Colsen appeared a little intimidated at first, but with plenty of cookies and gifts around, it's

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-87973822568944122902011-12-09T22:23:00.002-05:002011-12-09T22:26:06.598-05:00

Exactly 2 years ago, I did a kind of day-in-a-life record of some of my thoughts and activities for December 9th (just randomly).  So I thought I would do it again this year (just for fun). So here are some select moments from today's adventures: 7:03 am-- First cold little boy comes into our bedroom to crawl into bed with us. 7:08 am-- Second cold little boy comes into our bedroom to  crawl

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-8549040381708045532011-12-06T14:16:00.000-05:002011-12-06T14:16:01.386-05:00

It's one of our favorite holidays of the year! Unfortunately, Wingate does not recognize it as an important enough holiday to cancel classes, and Pete has to work today and tonight...  so we had our celebratory dinner last night instead.  I had a recipe picked out that had a bit of a middle-eastern flair (St. Nick was from Turkey after all)... but Pete was pretty sure the chick peas, quinoa and

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-1530224779327892832011-12-05T14:40:00.000-05:002011-12-05T14:40:45.841-05:00

On Friday we had not one but TWO parties at the Coles' house.  I forgot my camera both times, though, and when I borrowed Alleyn's camera to take a couple pics, I used it upside-down.  So we'll just have to rely on our memories for those events!  The highlight for me was the caroling.  It looked like this upside-down. Saturday, though, I did have my camera for Strider's Club 45 Christmas party.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-18806694749825281102011-12-03T19:31:00.000-05:002011-12-03T19:31:54.500-05:00

Some of the things I've heard lately...  *** After watching the first half hour of "Back to the Future Part 2" Strider looked at me with such an excited look and said, "I think this might end up being one of the best movies EVER! Don't you think so?!" *** Pete and Miles were having a special moment together and Miles asked, "Who are you?" Pete answered,  "I'm your daddy.  And you're my son! 

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-72426568252568972272011-12-01T09:55:00.000-05:002011-12-01T09:55:19.659-05:00

Milo is still in the early stages of grasping the concept of elapsed time. So, when he wants to refer to something in the past, he almost always says it happened "last night." Combining this malachronaprop* with his ornery stubbornness means that very often when we ask Miles if he has to go to the bathroom, he says, "Noooooo.... I just went last night!" (even though he actually does need to go

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-42396193505644178072011-11-28T12:24:00.000-05:002011-11-28T12:24:14.345-05:00

Strider, Colsen, and their cousin Nate apparently decided to participate in No-Shave November: And my littlest guy was working hard to be like my Big Guy.... There was a whole lot of manliness at the camp this past weekend.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-20085079789804817382011-11-26T19:07:00.002-05:002011-11-26T23:15:51.034-05:00

This year's was, in my opinion, our best Franksgiving yet! In keeping with our Tour of Camps tradition, the extended Frank family visited a new camp this year for Thanksgiving.  We stayed from Wednesday until Saturday, and it was a lovely place!   Right here in North Carolina (we loved our short drive), the camp is called Hickory Cove and it's right on a lake.  This was the view from my bed

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-52995088238973156502011-11-25T23:03:00.001-05:002011-11-25T23:08:06.072-05:00

The extended Frank family at Hickory Cove Camp today.... Strider, especially, seems to be really excited to be with his cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-59060164651497502892011-11-24T14:15:00.001-05:002011-11-26T18:38:22.385-05:00

I once heard a Chinese fable that went something like this:  Many years ago, a wise peasant lived in China. He had a son who was the apple of his eye and a fine white stallion, which everyone admired. One day his horse escaped from his grounds and disappeared. The villagers came to him one by one and said: "You are such an unlucky man. It is such bad luck that your horse escaped." The

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-82480776389606620242011-11-22T14:16:00.001-05:002011-11-22T19:41:17.813-05:00

One of my greatest joys is hearing the kids pray.  They all have different things they emphasize.... ...One of them is always the first to say he wants to pray.  Even if someone else is chosen to lead the prayer, he insists he must join in as well.  I love his enthusiasm in talking to God. ...One of them usually remembers to pray for missionaries and hurting people around the world.  She

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-66194307618640163122011-11-20T20:47:00.001-05:002011-11-20T20:51:33.873-05:00

When we got an email last week from a man inquiring about renting our house here while we are overseas, we were pretty sure it was our friend Darol playing a practical joke on us.  First of all, the man's name is almost exactly like Pete's name -- only 2 letters different in his whole name.  Secondly, when Pete told him the date we would be leaving the country, the man responded that that was the

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-79765466841141240692011-11-19T14:16:00.000-05:002011-11-19T14:16:08.333-05:00

We were driving in the car the other day, and I used the word "saliva" as I was describing something.  Strider immediately interrupted and said,  "Ooooohhhh... Don't say that word! I can't stand the word saliva!"  And this is how the conversation progressed: Me:  Saliva! Saliva! Strider: Mom! Stop! I almost want to throw up! Me:  Man, Strider, if you're ever going to be a doctor, you are

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-3601337870193238232011-11-18T11:43:00.000-05:002011-11-18T11:43:55.345-05:00

Please vote for Strider’s video!  He and his teammates have entered the ReelMath video contest.  The assignment was to do a short story about a math problem, which doesn’t sound all that thrilling, but I think they did a good job trying to make it entertaining.  (You can get a quick glimpse of the problem* they did in the book Strider is reading towards the beginning of the video)  They put a LOT

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-1961483239656497222011-11-17T16:33:00.000-05:002011-11-17T16:33:47.226-05:00

After we finished reading a short biography on Benjamin Franklin recently, Colsen walked up the stairs saying, "Sometime will there be a book that says, 'There was a boy named Colsen and he lived in 1996 --' wait... is it 1996?" I answered, "Well, actually it's 2011, and you were born in 2006." "Ok," he said. "So it will say, 'He was born in 2006, and he lived in 2011.' And then it will tell

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-29448656900838192792011-11-15T09:35:00.000-05:002011-11-15T09:35:08.928-05:00

We've been told that there are virtually no clothes dryers in Moldova, so I've been mentally preparing for the fact that we'll be drying all of our clothes on a clothesline once we get there.  I love to dry clothes outside when the weather is nice, but have never tried doing it indoors. So I was happy to walk into the dining room one morning and see that Miles had taken it upon himself to give a

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-56695902196268415412011-11-14T20:43:00.000-05:002011-11-14T20:43:39.767-05:00

According to my Random Number Generator (a.k.a. the boy who picked the number out of a bowl), this was the winner: .... Which means Commenter # 8 receives her choice of prize!  Karen Boyer, Honey-Ginger-Molasses Cookies will be heading your way!  :) (By the way, I've had a few people tell me that they still can't figure out how to comment here.  So I did a little experimenting and found that

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-7913645248338878592011-11-11T11:29:00.000-05:002011-11-11T11:29:46.606-05:00

This week Bil Keane, the man who seemed to have known my family so well -- even before we were born -- passed away.  As a child I loved reading his cartoons, and as an adult I've loved even more watching the cartoons play out in front of my eyes.  It is quite fun living with a Billy, Dolly, Jeffy and PJ... even if I'm not as tall and slender as the mom portrayed in the strip. Just this morning,

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-72009363807451476972011-11-09T17:41:00.003-05:002011-11-09T17:42:43.437-05:00

Dear Future Milo -- I want you to know someday what kind of toddler you have been, because you sure are... well, fascinating.  And someday when you're complaining that your parents seem to have no energy, maybe you'll now realize that your 2-year old self helped to sap that energy at a far faster pace than one would think possible. If I had to sum you up in just a few words... well, I couldn't.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-59396330594746247272011-11-07T15:34:00.000-05:002011-11-07T15:34:19.676-05:00

The big day finally arrived, after 2 days of partying! As part of today's celebration, we went to the air show here at our local airport (right in Monroe!).  It was awesome!  There were planes doing tricks, parachuters, old-timey airplanes, battle scenes, and explosions that made our faces hot.  What else could you want? It was fun having the Drescher's and Kai join us, too. I

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-57484662009219028052011-11-06T18:13:00.000-05:002011-11-06T18:13:37.684-05:00

Getting together with the extended Wray family is just like a dinner with all the Bravermans (on "Parenthood") -- if they also invited an entire kindergarten class. We had a lot of our family over yesterday to celebrate Katie's and Colsen's birthdays.  I guess it had been awhile since everyone gathered at our regular-size home...  I think the family seems to have doubled in size since the last

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-47910130794798301762011-11-04T16:07:00.000-04:002011-11-04T16:07:10.456-04:00

Our family tradition for when a child turns 5 is to take a trip to Build-A-Bear where they can create a special little friend.  Strider and Rayna each had their turns on their 5th birthdays.... (Coincidentally, they both invited girls named Elizabeth to join them!) Well TODAY it was Colsen's turn to take part in the tradition.... and he got to bring TWO special people.... cousins Kai and Branson.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-8994047360923546422011-11-03T10:32:00.001-04:002011-11-03T10:33:25.550-04:00

This Fall, Strider and Rayna have been enjoying some sports/activities:  Strider has been playing baseball, they both have been taking a P.E. class, and Rayna has been taking a modern dance class. Strider's been playing in a new baseball league, which has ended up being much more intense than he was used to.  He loved it -- especially when we got to steal bases. The P.E. class is at Carolina

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-16219042947100699272011-11-01T12:52:00.000-04:002011-11-01T12:52:37.397-04:00

This is what Halloween night looked like for us! Even though I still can't stand Halloween on principle, hanging out with friends sure makes it a fun night anyway!  The Timberlakes --and Sam -- came over for dinner and then all the kids headed out for some good ol' trick-or-treating. The bigger boys made the rounds much faster than the rest of us. Afterwards we had the very pleasant surprise

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-30825999077549619592011-10-30T15:25:00.001-04:002011-10-30T15:25:31.944-04:00

On Friday I announced I was going to bake some brownies -- a treat I hadn't made in over a year.  Rayna heard me say this and a few minutes later I came into the kitchen and found her saying she had "gotten everything ready." She had pulled out:  a small mixing bowl, a loaf-pan baking dish, a measuring cup, some baking soda, baking powder, salt, extra virgin olive oil, sugar and Magic Shell ice

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-68302417691357955492011-10-28T20:54:00.000-04:002011-10-28T20:54:45.998-04:00

 Each night for the last couple of weeks, we've heard gales of giggles coming from Colsen after bedtime.  He loves to read these big "Calvin and Hobbes" books.  We thought it was weird, since he can't actually *read*, but now I just think kindred spirits don't need written language to communicate.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-65058641583712983542011-10-25T19:58:00.001-04:002011-10-25T19:59:02.768-04:00

Over the last few months I've realized that I've been spending more money than I ever have on things like skincare and make-up.  This fact has not slipped by Pete, either.  So last night we were having a nice little conversation about it, and I shared with him my philosophy (not my Philosophy products... just my perspective). The way I figure it, early in my life I didn't spend much money on my

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-47038171185547659552011-10-24T18:19:00.000-04:002011-10-24T18:19:13.839-04:00

"Yay!  We made it through the corn maze!" On Saturday, Colsen, Rayna and I met Nonna, Poppa, Kai and Addie at Aw Shucks farm for a fun little outing.  It was a perfect day for it!   It's always nice to spend time with cousins and grandparents!

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-69817290270699034932011-10-20T23:00:00.000-04:002011-10-21T09:16:52.806-04:00

Today is one of those days when I realize time is going by and the kids are changing.  Strider, in particular, is getting to experience some new things this year -- and a lot of the activities are on Thursdays.  So this morning, after he spent some time racing around finding his lost math papers and lost writing papers, and printing out latest drafts of reports and remembering at the very last

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-14094262320062109862011-10-20T14:26:00.000-04:002011-10-20T14:26:39.753-04:00

Yesterday the students at Poplar Streams Academy had the extraordinary experience of having some visiting teachers come to do a lesson.  Bearing striking resemblances to Nonna and Poppa, Professor Popcorn and Mother Marshmallow* arrived all decked out in their (academic?) regalia. Along with actual popcorn and marshmallows to eat (which instantly granted them Most Favorite Teacher status for the

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-27829165760909184542011-10-17T08:55:00.001-04:002011-10-17T09:19:08.692-04:00

Friday was a perfect Fall day, so Pete took the 3 older kids to Morrow Mountain.  He had originally intended on camping overnight, but then remembered that his sleeping bag had been stolen the last time they went camping... and 2 of the kids don't have sleeping bags.... and our tents are wearing out... and it was going to be pretty cold at night....  So they went for the day instead. (In my

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-84301435312797578612011-10-14T16:30:00.002-04:002011-10-14T16:41:19.522-04:00

Living with 3 young boys sure is interesting.  Here's some of what I've experienced this week... There have been zany games: Strider was vacuuming the other night and he somehow made it into a game: "I'm trying to jump across the room and turn it on without touching the floor!" he gleefully reported. Only an 11-year old boy would think of this. There have been scares: This morning I realized

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-83662087644628603002011-10-11T23:00:00.000-04:002011-10-11T23:00:22.667-04:00

On July 27th of this year, Pete announced he would be starting our Shower Project.  The shower in our master bathroom was getting quite old and gross, so we had decided to go ahead and remove the fiberglass insert and create a new, tiled shower area with a frameless glass door.  (This was actually the scaled-back version of what Pete wanted to do... which involved knocking down walls....) Anyway

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-79284428590222618832011-10-11T12:45:00.001-04:002011-10-11T12:58:39.370-04:00

Pete was on his Fall Break yesterday, so he took the little boys up to Huntersville to go to Discovery Place Kids with my parents.  Unfortunately, it was closed.  BUT, Plan B ended up being pretty fantastic -- a trip up to Lazy 5 Ranch with Poppa! The boys loved seeing all the animals up close -- REALLY up close.  I'm not sure who was more intrigued:  the characters outside the car, or

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-3242539751776815052011-10-08T19:26:00.001-04:002011-10-08T19:28:32.049-04:00

Today's weather was perfect for our neighborhood's Fall festival!  Pete is in Ohio this weekend (so of course a slug made it into our house last night and I had to deal with it by myself!), but the rest of us saddled up our bikes and rode to the park this morning for some good Fall fun. For Strider, the big highlight was having 2 of his best buds join him this year. For some reason I can simply

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-25430839174885580312011-10-04T12:12:00.001-04:002011-10-04T12:39:15.903-04:00

Our local Chick-Fil-A held a Mother-Son Date "Knight" this evening, and Colsen was my date!  He's such a charmer. He even wanted to pick me some flowers. :) I wish I could have recorded a transcript of our conversations in the car on the way to the restaurant, but I'll just include here a few excerpts: Me:  Colsen, do you know how to treat a lady on a date? Colsen:  No... Me:  Ok, you should

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-69052214873891330952011-10-02T19:26:00.000-04:002011-10-02T19:26:59.375-04:00

 What a sweet little peanut Hannah is!  I had such a fun time today getting to see and hold her for the first time.  She is so petite.... such a tiny little head!  And she was so at peace in her mother's arms.  (Katie looks FANTASTIC, by the way -- see?!)  The other Aunt Amy enjoyed getting to hold her, too, and Uncle Dan did his typical "look at" the baby.  He's still scared to hold other

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-50119434697878678232011-09-30T20:03:00.001-04:002011-09-30T20:09:07.911-04:00

On Wednesday night, Amy, Karin, Mom and I took Katie out for a little pre-baby dinner.  We had a great time talking about possible baby names, finding out Katie's plans for the delivery, hearing about how she was working on packing her bag, etc.  Her due date was 12 days away, but since she went almost a week past her due date in her first pregnancy, we all figured she had a few more weeks of

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-31778874570315020072011-09-28T09:47:00.000-04:002011-09-28T09:47:54.132-04:00

Our school/church co-op group has grown a bit over the summer!  We now have 19 kids of school age, so it's a good thing Alleyn has a some big tables at her house.  This past week we all met to get an art lesson from Angela -- our artist-in-residence.  She had a good "mixed media" project for the kids to try, and it seemed to work well for all the ages.  This was Colsen's debut at co-op, and he

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-54971206254334063172011-09-26T20:19:00.001-04:002011-09-26T20:24:38.372-04:00

This year, the World's Strongest Man competition was held at none other than Wingate University!  This was huge news, since last year it was held in South Africa, the year before in some other country, etc....   Little ol' Wingate is now in that illustrious list of locations.  The campus was quite a-buzz. Of course the boys here were dying to go, and, conveniently as it turned out, I was asked

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-61912228717153534202011-09-22T10:49:00.000-04:002011-09-22T10:49:17.074-04:00

This has been a popular game recently.  All 3 of them love to pull their chairs up like this and announce, "I'm just a head!"  Weird. (It's been a slow week around here I guess)

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-57999862063183186252011-09-20T14:15:00.002-04:002011-09-20T14:17:08.149-04:00

I forgot to post this a couple weeks ago, but I want to make sure it gets into the official record:  I make cool snacks once in awhile.... ok, once ever. The kids had seen this idea for little merry-go-rounds in an animal magazine they receive monthly, and they relentlessly requested that I buy animal crackers so we could make them.  Finally, I remembered and was able to make the much

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-49724278471416226252011-09-17T12:32:00.000-04:002011-09-17T12:32:42.671-04:00

Answer:  58 degrees.  Some folks are ready for winter I think!

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-8343638841035964702011-09-16T18:15:00.016-04:002011-09-16T18:20:04.902-04:00

While Strider was getting a treat out of the pantry one day, he asked me this unanswerable question:  "Why do these little candy bars say 'Fun size?'  They're not the fun size- - KING size are the FUN size!" Out on a walk/bike ride one evening, Rayna started to go out in the street.  This was the conversation after that: Colsen:  Rayna, don't go in the road! Me:  Cole, I like how you look out

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-87472804933871726542011-09-14T19:38:00.000-04:002011-09-14T19:38:46.373-04:00

Thanks to the fundraiser a non-profit was having, we were able to purchase some day-passes for Great Wolf Lodge at more than 80% off the ticketed price.  I couldn't resist. We scheduled our visit for this past Monday... however, even I couldn't find a way to justify this as a school field trip!  So, last week we had school on Labor Day, and that made me feel better about taking this Monday off!

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-64912209970934310672011-09-13T22:10:00.002-04:002011-09-14T09:40:49.584-04:00

Tonight Pete was telling me about the very unique evening he had.  This was the end of the conversation... Pete:  Joseph and his wife were there, too. Me: Wait -- what?  Wives could have gone?  Why didn't you tell me? Pete:  You would have wanted to go?  I didn't think you'd want to pay for a babysitter. Me:  When the evening involves following a police-escorted motorcade transporting a U.S.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-87053415931854212282011-09-12T18:27:00.000-04:002011-09-12T18:27:59.063-04:00

Here's Strider trying not to smile before his haircut: And here's Strider trying not to smile after his haircut: Personally, I'm just happy to see those eyes again -- and they're usually smiling!

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-14982751072439287222011-09-11T23:08:00.000-04:002011-09-11T23:08:37.255-04:00

Colsen:  Mom, I don't want to get a job when I grow up. Me: Why not? Colsen:  Cuz I just want to live next door to you and watch the house for you and make sure you don't get hurt or anything.  I'll just rescue you if you need it.  Know why I'm getting so strong?  So I can rescue you.  I'm doing lots of things to get strong -- like kicking and climbing and running and stuff so I can get lots of

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-63176646048844299072011-09-09T21:32:00.001-04:002011-09-27T21:12:19.636-04:00

Miles has transformed into a full-fledged talker before our very eyes the last few months, and we've gotten a kick out of hearing what he has to say.  I love hearing him say words like "actually" or "first" in context.  To commemorate the speech "Miles-stone," here are his Top 9 Phrases: 1.  "I do it.  I said, I do it!" 2. " Why?"   As his response to everything.  We have conversations like

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-71142223846513791832011-09-06T21:43:00.000-04:002011-09-06T21:43:51.387-04:00

Last night before I went to bed, I organized a lot of my photographs, got them into frames and put them up around the house.  In the process, I discovered a pack of markers, so I hid them in a place I figured the kids would never look. By the time I woke up this morning, there was marker scrawled all over one wall and my planner -- someone had found the package I so carefully hid.  And by 10 a.m

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-46738372336425802562011-09-05T09:07:00.000-04:002011-09-05T09:07:47.661-04:00

As I've mentioned before, Rayna loooooves to help out around the house, mimicking or anticipating what I'm going to do next.  Recently I couldn't find a half of a lime that I had just cut and left on the counter.  After hunting around, I asked Rayna if she knew where it was.  She promptly showed me this bag in the fridge, in which she had put the lime.  She knows I often put lemons or limes in a

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-844283787786340942011-09-02T20:56:00.000-04:002011-09-02T20:56:03.443-04:00

Today we met some of our friends at Plaza Fiesta.  Yes, it was during a school-day, and yes, it was basically a huge (gigantic, really) playground.  But we did our very best to make it school-related...  We moms decided we were doing "block schooling."  This morning's block was all dedicated to their physical eduation time for the month.  (And if anyone's really concerned, this afternoon's block

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-85294655183482229222011-09-02T14:58:00.000-04:002011-09-02T14:59:09.248-04:00

The youth group at our church had their big kick-off event for the new school year on Sunday, so, since even the younger kids were welcome, we all went. Strider and Rayna dove right in and loved playing the games... Strider below with his blonde hair (only for 1 more week!) and red/gray shirt tried to help his team solve the riddle: Rayna, below, is doing some sort of spinning game:

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-78807151298134095452011-08-31T20:50:00.000-04:002011-08-31T20:50:14.276-04:00

Today, to my great delight, we had a couple of guests to help us out with school:  Nonna and Poppa!  They were Super-Grands for us -- not only providing education and entertainment for the kids, but some much-appreciated help for me.  In my ideal world, Poplar Streams Academy would have 3 teachers, to cover all the ages and stages -- and today we not only had that, but some extra bonuses as well.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-34038302338181170652011-08-30T14:48:00.000-04:002011-08-30T14:48:57.561-04:00

 Pete:  You should have seen Colsen at the pool today -- I was throwing him up in the air and he went really high. Me:  Colsen, were you scared?? Colsen:  No, I knew the lifeguard was there and was watching me if I drowned. Strider:  What if the lifeguard wasn't watching because she was talking to someone else? Colsen:  I wish my lifeguard was a spider because they have those big eyes that can

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-32331348459204693102011-08-28T20:07:00.000-04:002011-08-28T20:07:01.051-04:00

Before Rayna was born, I made a little photo collage of some of her cousins' baby pictures.  It is still hanging in her room, above the changing table, which is now used by Miles.  Yesterday as I was getting Milo dressed, we were looking at the pictures and I was particulary struck by the babies in the 4 pictures above.  Those cute little munchkins are now at Michigan Tech, Cornell University,

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-65608017870570118692011-08-26T09:27:00.000-04:002011-08-26T09:27:52.773-04:00

The kids' passports arrived yesterday!  Now we're (supposedly) all ready to be globe-trotters. I think these are just the cutest passport photos I've ever seen.  :)(They were told to stay very serious for the pictures!) So the first thing on our "To Do Before Leaving for Moldova" list is now crossed off.  Actually, the first 3 things are crossed off:1. Have kids' photos taken for passports2.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6089574614830191814.post-3916435104100339722011-08-24T14:17:00.000-04:002011-08-24T14:17:39.905-04:00

Last week we went to our friends' house (which also happens to be the location of our community garden).  The sunflowers in the garden were done blooming so we were invited over to do a project with the seeds! First we found the flower heads which still had seeds (many had been gotten to by the birds first).  Carefully the kids pulled out all the seeds. Once we had a good pile of them, we

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05116930347397688363noreply@blogger.com0