Happy Birthday Lance!

How did my baby boy ever reach the double digits?  

I held Lance's hand today and realized it was so big I could no longer cup it in my hand; I needed to adjust and hold it like I do his father's hand.  How did my baby boy ever reach the double digits? 

Where has all the time gone?

Moments just keep slipping away and I struggle to catch them to cherish them.

Yet he grows and I'm proud of how he's growing to be master of the world around him.  To be accomplished.

He is devoted to his little sister.

A best friend and playmate to his brothers, loving and compassionate.

He is growing older, yes, but he has managed to kept his innocence.  Never "too big" to enjoy life with his siblings. 

He marvels at the simple things in life; a beautiful flower, a bug on a leaf, a duck or seagull he likes to name.

He has an inquiring mind, he wants to understand the world around him and how it all works.

He is intelligent, if a bit unconventional in his manner of study.

He is creative and loves to build with blocks and Legos.  Also in simple ways to smile.

A great athlete and passionate baseball player, admired by teammates and rivals.

 Friendly to strangers and loyal to his friends.

He is a great man in the making, my darling boy whom I cherish with all my heart, my beautiful one (inside and out).  We pray you will walk with the Lord all the days of your life and enjoy the blessings of His favor throughout.

English by the Books

When I was a kid (Hee, Hee), we had one class called "English" that included grammar/punctuation, reading/literature and writing.  I am confused by the term "Language Arts" because sometimes is seems to mean only grammar and other times it seems to include reading and literature.  However, what I'm most confused about, no matter what you call it, is how and when to teach the different components of "English" to my children.  

English is not my strongest suit (you may have noticed).  Though I love to read, I am much more comfortable teaching numbers and science.  Plus, no matter how hard I research a new tool for teaching, I have one child who never likes the new approach/curricula.  That is until now....

Our first real head way came a few weeks ago with "Grammaropolis" (Thanks Brandy!).  This product is available on the computer or as we prefer as an ipad app.  I posted a video of one of the songs above but before you hit play, I must warn you, this song will stick in your head!  My first thought was, "Great, more silly songs stuck in our heads but will they learned anything?"  The answer is a sound, "Yes!".  There is more to the program than just silly song videos, badges and quizzes that keep them motivated to learn.  Now when I ask them about a word or a part of speech, they are quick to identify and explain.  "Yay!"  And best of all I'm not the only one saying, "Yay!", they like it so much, they ask to do the app after their school work is done.  What more could a mother ask :-)

My next thought was, "Do they have a punctuation app?".  Unfortunately, they are working on one but it will be a while.  However, they did direct me to some books called "The Puncs". 

With the idea of living grammar books in my head, I started gathering up books from the library, my shelves, catalogs and the internet.

I finally realized that my son was not pushing back on English all this time, he loves to read, he was pushing back at the idea of doing worksheets.  He dislikes worksheets of any kind no matter how short in length.  He's my relationship kid.  I need to remember to keep learning relational, and I am.  Books are relational, apps are relational and apparently me writing the worksheet exercises on a white board and having him mark it up there is relational.

After painstaking research two years ago, I thought had finally found the perfect "Language Arts" program called "Easy Grammar".  The name appeared very appropriate. It was:

• Designed to be done in about 10 minutes.
• New ideas are introduced in tiny pieces.  (To the teacher and the student.)
• There is plenty of review, including "Daily Grams"
• It includes a complete answer sheet to everything (I'm not ready for "Language Arts" programs that think I can correct the worksheets myself.)
• When I had a question about how to begin, the author of the book gave me a thorough answer.  I like authors that are very accessible.

I know what you're thinking but I just said I wanted to use living books, not worksheets.  So why am I talking about this now?  Well, I am back to using it too, but this time he's not writing in the books, instead we do it together on the big white board.  This seems to make all the difference(It might also help that my son is two years older too. My poor burnt pancake!).

This is how "Language Arts" all comes together for us...

Before we start "All About Spelling" for the day we sit down and read from one of our living grammar books.  We discuss the concept introduced in the book a little, as it relates to their journals.  Next, I write on the white board four or five exercises either from the main "Easy Grammar" workbook or "Daily Grams". They correct them on the board while we discuss the ideas further.  Then we kick into our regular "All About Spelling" routine (click here for more on our routine).

This new plan is working great!  I'm not getting any push-back and though it's only been a few weeks we are ALL starting to learn a lot.  Perhaps in a year or so you'll see the improvement in my posts. LOL

Run Jared! Run! - 6 mo. Post-op

Time has been flying by lately.  It's hard to believe it's already been six months since Jared's surgery.  Some days it seems a lifetime ago, other days like it was yesterday.

One of the goals post-op was for Jared to get into shape to run the annual "Smile Mile" in our area.  It's a neat kids running event down the street from our house each March. In the past, he has never been able to fully participate.

To prepare for this, he joined the Track Shack Junior Running Club, which conveniently also meets at the track down the street from our house.  The kids in this group were really awesome!

One special day, the team met somewhere else for a trail run and it was drizzling.  At first, it seemed it might be only Jared and another young girl.  This young girl was one of the fastest runners in the group, a natural, with a beautiful heart.  She chose to take the slower and shorter road to run with Jared, and continued running with him even after some other kids showed up and she could have gone the longer distance.  I could have hugged her for her kindness.  These are the type of kids he ran with.

His first official mile race came February 16th at the "Run Around the Pines - Kids Fun Run".  Lance chose not to race but he did pose (reluctantly) with himself.

Titus ran the 400 meter race with great gusto, to the cheers of everyone.

Then it was Jared's turn to run the mile.  He did FANTASTIC!

He was the only kid from his club running that day.  However, his coach was there and ran with him toward the end to encourage him.

He finished his first mile in 13:25!  He shaved about 1:30 off his previous best time. Absolutely Awesome!

Chris was so proud, he posted on Facebook about Jared's great run.  Our friend from Track Shack saw it and asked if they could post it on Track Shack's Facebook page.  A few days later, she sent this email: 

"I'm about speechless.  Posting the pic of Jared and copying some of Chris’ comments (to be accurate) on our FB page garnered more Likes and Shares to a single post that we’ve ever had in Track Shack’s illustrious FB history.  Thank you for allowing us to share that little piece."

A few weeks following his run, Jared had his six month check-up, on March 8th, the day before the "Smile Mile".  The appointment was a full work-up including Stair Test.  The good news was they concluded he was "operating within expected parameters".  He was cleared to play baseball if he wanted (just not pitcher or catcher), but then came the "but".  Because of the Glen Procedure, they reminded us endurance could still be an issue; or so the Stair Test said.  I'd forgotten about he "Glen", mom's like to forget about things like the upper half of their son's blood supply being rerouted directly to his lungs. It's natural.  Then I remembered how Jared had already beat all the odds. God clearly has a special plan for him and I thought to myself - why should I worry?  We will encourage him to continue to beat them as he sees fit.  The other good news was they did ease him off two of his medications and if he continues without complications, he could be down to just one in the next year.  Now back to running....

Unfortunately, in addition to having a doctor's appointment the day before, Jared contracted food poisoning (we think from some bad milk) two days before the "Smile Mile".  Since he hadn't eaten much in two days, we figured he'd skip the race....we were wrong.  Jared wanted to run. 

His little brother joined him after the start of the race, for encouragement.

Then toward the end of the race Titus asked if he could run ahead.  Jared graciously encouraged Titus to "Run! Titus! Run!" and boy did he run. He zoomed past both his parents before we could recognize him and get a shot off. He finished around 11 min.  Jared was tired but kept going and finished to the cheers and accolades of his family and friends (including his both his grandfathers) and our friends from Track Shack, who were bragging about his accomplishment over the loud speakers. 

I'm glad I had the camera in front of my face to cover my happy tears.  Grandpa Bob had come over specifically to see him run and gave the best compliment of all.  Jared was a little disappointed with his time and I tried to cheer him up saying he had done well considering he wasn't feeling well and my dad interjected "He didn't do well, he did awesome!", which brought a big smile to Jared's face.

Running club has been a great experience for Jared.  He finished up his running season two weeks later with an inter-club track meet where he received his first ribbon, a 3rd Place in the 800 meter run with a time of 6:05!  What a kid!

New Kings of Israel and Eygpt (Part 1)

I find it interesting that as the King Period starts in Israel, the Egyptians start a new period also, over throwing the Hyksos to rule their own people once again.

1051 - 1011 BC  King Saul

The Bible clearly provides the best means of teaching about King Saul.  I was unable to find any great living books on this period, so I stuck to our core resources.

• Hurlbut's Story of the Bible - We continue to read this Childrens' Bible.  I like the way it weaves the stories of the bible together in a narrative, without distorting the facts.  I also appreciate how the author reminds the reader of how the current story ties to stories previously read.
• Victor Journey Through the Bible (VJTB) - This is a great resource to have on hand when reading the bible; it has pictures explanations of customs, etc.  
• Unveiling the Kings of Israel - This is a great resource for tying the bible to archeology.  The big insight on King Saul was that the Hyksos were the Amalakites.  The ones who attached the Israelites shortly after the Exodus and whom Saul was ordered by God to destroy for that act.  This ties in nicely our next timeline point which explains why the Amalakies were back roaming the desert.
• Mark the Timeline.

1018 - 690 BC New Kingdom in Egypt (Dynasty 18-19)
This was a period of great power and affluence for the Egyptians.  During this period Egyptians abandon pyramid burials and move toward hiding their tombs in the "Valley of the Kings" at Luxor.  An interesting book discussing the archeological history of the area is "Valley of the Kings" by Smith and Bernard.  

• Unwrapping the Pharaohs - Chapter 14 "Egypt Liberated" - Explains how the Egyptians freed themselves from the rule of Hyksos/Amalakies.  The story about the Hippo was entertaining to the boys.
• Next,  I wanted to do a quick highlight of the of the five Pharaohs from this period we were going to focus on:  Hatsheput, Thutmosis III, Amenhotep/Akenaten and Nefertiti, Tutankhamen and Ramses II.  To do this I read, Unwrapping the Pharaohs - Chapter 15 "A New Day Dawns Over Egypt".
• Next to get an idea of the new kingdom we looked at pictures of Luxor and Western Thebes in "Lost Civilizations" pgs. 114 - 129  (This is great coffee table size book of huge pictures you can get for $5 used on Amazon).
• Mark Timeline

1011 - 971 BC Davidic Kingdom

Like with Saul the Bible provides the best source for teaching about King David.  It is interesting to not that secularist didn't use to believe he really existed (like King Arthur) until recently when archeological evidence proved otherwise.  Here are the other resources we used:

• Hulburt's Story of the Bible
• Victor Journey Through the Bible
• Unveiling the Kings of Israel
• Map Trek #15 - Israel's Golden Age
• Mark Timeline

c.1000 BC Phoenician Civilization establishes their Alphabet 

Though 1000 BC is not when the Phoenician civilization began it is about the time that their method of writing was fully established so I chose to discuss them here since David and the King of Tyre were friends.

• REVIEW:  Timeline, Minoan and Mycenae
• Read “Everything You Need to Know About - World History”  – Phoenicians pg. 7
• Read “On the Shores of the Great Sea” -  Chapter 11 “Early Pioneers” (4 pgs.) and Chapter 12 "Hiram, the King of Tyre"   http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=synge&book=greatsea&story=pioneers  ** Note: All other stories from this book are accessible for Free from this link
• Read and look at pictures of Leptis Magna in “Lost Civilizations” pgs. 144-149 (Home of Phoenicians and Carthaginians)
• MAP TREK:  Map #16 - Phoenicia's Trading Empire.  We took a moment here to discuss Jonah and the city he wanted to visit that was marked on the map.
• Mark Timeline
• Watch “The Phoenicians” This site also contains a number of other interesting videos from the author of Unwrapping the Pharoahs and Unveiling the Kings of Israel.  Some tolerance most be given to the quality of tapes but considering many of these places are no longer accessible, they are worth watching.   http://www.beyondpatmos.org/watchvideo.aspx?videoid=468

950 BC Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut is a very interesting figure in Egyptian History.  The only true Egyptian female to be Pharaoh (Cleopatra was a decedent of one of Alexander the Greats generals).  There are all kinds of tales about who she was and why someone attempted to remove her from Egyptian history but it is important to remember that it is all conjecture, no one knows.  As a result, I chose to ignore the more Hollywood accounts, and stick to the milder theories, since both are equally viable.  Her temple at Deir el-Bahari is one of the most spectacular and well known.

• REVIEW:  Timeline and narrate with Egyptian Puppets what they’ve learned about Egypt
• Narrate and read excerpts “Unwrapping the Pharaohs” pgs. 118-123
• Read “Usborne Time Traveler” pgs. 114-115 (Travel to Punt)
• Read “How the Sphinx got to the Museum” by Jessie Hartland  This is a charming book about not just Hatshepsut but also the process of finding artifacts and getting them to the museum.
• Mark Timeline

971 BC Solomon’s Reign

• ART:  The Judgment of Solomon interpreted by various artists http://www.biblical-art.com/biblicalsubject.asp?id_biblicalsubject=193&pagenum=1
• REVIEW:  Narrate what they remember about Solomon
• Narrate and read excerpts “Unveiling the Kings of Israel” s pgs.  102-107
• Discuss “Queen of Sheba” Hatshepsut visits “Punt” in 9^th year, possibly to visit her sister Neferbity (Their father was Thutmosis I) whom Solomon married.  How that would have been why she was curious to meet him from correspondence from her sister.  How the gold found in Tut’s tomb proved she would have certainly had the wealth the bible discusses. 
• Read "King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba" by Blu Greenberg - This is a fascinating story.  Make sure to read the preface and all the pages at the end.  The intellect in me was convinced in the Hatshepsut until I read this and the modern day believe of the Israelites or the romantic in me leans toward Ethiopia now.
• Discuss now who you think the "Queen of Sheba" was?  Could both accounts be true?  Could Hatesheput have visited but Queen of Ethiopia be the one he fell in love with?
• MAP TREK:  Map #17 - Solomon's Extended Kingdom
• Read “On the Shores of the Great Sea” – Chapter 13 “King Solomon’s Fleet"
• Mark timeline

Click here for Part Two of this post.

How to rearrange your wallet (Feng Shui Part 2)

In addition to our possessions, we have also been Feng Shui-ing our budget.  As our family grows and our real income doesn't, we have to adjust our budget and re-prioritize our spending.  

BTW, here's a previous post of how we created our budget in the first place and another on money saving tips. 

Here we go!  Like Feng Shuing your possessions, there are some simple questions you need to ask when adjusting your budget:

Do you really need it?

• Cable TV - We cancelled this back in 2004.  At first, we filled the gap with NetFlix then over time we found even that expense was unnecessary.  We have found that most shows are available for free through internet streaming (including major sports like football, commercial free). With NetFlix, Hulu, Amazon.com, etc, Cable TV is an unnecessary expense anymore and once you're past the initial adjustment, you'll never miss it, trust us.  If you're not sure, most providers will let you put your cable on "vacation" for a few months at a minimal charge, so you can try living without before you commit.
• Home Phone - This is an expense we finally got rid of this month.  In the age of cell phones, it's really unnecessary also.  I have to admit I was leary of living without a home phone.  My solution was the same as cable, first put our phone on "vacation" for two months.  At the end of the two month period, we were comfortable we did not need a land line.  We realized we could even send e-faxes via our cell phones. We certainly don't miss all the tele-marketing calls.
• Gym memberships - My husband has found working out at home much more effective for his physical fitness, granted it took him some time to come up with right routine.  He mainly does planks (straight and side), push-ups and of course rides his bike for cardio.  Plus besides saving money, think of all the germs you'll avoid too.

Is that the best product at the best price?

• Price Shop - Each year its a good idea to review all your contracted costs and shop around to make sure you're getting the best deal, both financial and in services provided.  Insurance (home, car, life) and anything else with annual fees should be evaluated.  We found some services we decided we could live without and some we could cut back on.  It takes some effort but I feel it is part of good stewardship.
• AAA - This is an item I realized with effort can pay for itself each year, if you just remember to use the card for discounts.  I'm amazed now that I started asking, who gives AAA discounts, not just travel related retailers.  If you go to their site, you can get a comprehensive list.
• Banking - We canceled our accounts with a mainstream bank and went back to our credit union because of the fees.  I also realized I can make more money on my money in the bank by grouping it differently and following program rules, like making sure to make three online transactions each month to get higher interest.  In making these changes, not only did we eliminate fees, we are now making a little on what we have in the bank.  Every little bit counts!
• Credit Cards - Ideally you don't want these, but if you must make sure you making the most out of them, capitalizing on points and minimizing fees and interest rates.  I find by charging everything to our American Express, the points that build up more than pay for the annual fee.  The other reasons I use the American Express are safety (They believe the card holder when disputes come up and make the vendor prove otherwise.  Plus it keeps the money in my bank safe from fraud.) and temptation (since it has to be paid off each month, I'm never tempted to get into debt).
• Evaluate ALL Purchases - I already went into this in my previous budgeting post, but wanted to expand things a bit here.  What I'm referring to here is looking at how you spend your money on non-contract items each month.  Like groceries; I find I can still buy organic if I buy the store brand version.  I can buy things that may have been outside of our budget by using the points built up on my American Express card to buy gift cards to Home Depot, etc; or even use the points to purchase directly from Amazon anything they sell.  Some tools to help you evaluate are:
• Blue Bird by American Express
• Simple Banking  "A worry free alternative to traditional banking" with a great wealth of tools for evaluating your spending.
• Handling Big Purchases 
• Budget ahead - Have a seperate saving account where you put aside a certain amount each month till you can purchase the item with cash.
• Evaluate what you can live without - Saving ahead is nice, but life doesn't always work out that way.  We found that when our garage door opener broke, we really could just open the door ourselves.  When our microwave broke, it was just as easy to heat water on the stove and warm things up in the toaster oven.
• Use other peoples money - If you decide you do need the item, like a new refrigerator, find out what kind of no interest plans they have.  Use it and make sure to pay it off a month in advance to avoid any controversy about interest.
• Extended Warranties - I never know what to believe here, but my husband read some articles recently that said don't bother, most items that break will do so during the normal warranty period.

Can you do it yourself?

• Pest Control - We found that simply putting Boric Acid behind our appliances and pluging all holes with caulk, has kept our home mostly bug free.  We had gotten a pest service when we first moved in because I can't stand smells/chemicals and this service treated from the outside. We realized this is an easy service to start up again should we find we have trouble doing it ourselves in the future.  Some services have big re-start costs which should be considered before discontinuing.
• Yard Maintenance - This is another item that has to be balanced.  If you don't have the tools to do it yourself, it may be cheaper to continue your service and there's also the consideration of time away from family.  However, if you have the tools and the time, this is an easy service to discontinue.  This was a hard service for me to give up this year but when I actually went out one morning and did it myself, I realized it wasn't as bad as I remembered.

In the end we were able to cut out from our monthly budget an amount equal to our increase in expenses in other areas (i.e. healthy food and activities for the kids).  So not only is our house lighter this new year, our budget is also. 

I wish you all the same, if not better results.

Spring Training

The Atlanta Braves hold their annual spring training at Disney's Wide World of Sports. This gives us the occasional opportunity to attend a Major League Baseball game in a world class facility at a fraction of the cost. For his 10th birthday, Lance wanted to attend a game, just as we did for his 8th birthday.  Jared and Lance's best friend Matthew came along and Titus made his Major League début.  He was so excited! This may have accounted for the number of times he had to visit the men's room. Although, he does have a tendency to want to "sample" the bathrooms where ever we go. :-)

As you can see from the picture below, the weather was questionable and the forecast called for heavy rain to hit right at game time. Spring Training games are rarely rescheduled, so we decided to head out and hope for the best. We are glad we did.

Because of the impending rain, the field was covered with the tarp. We arrived at the ballpark and found our seats, which were wet. We came prepared, with not only rain jackets, but I stashed a small towel in my pocket as well. Disney was prepared as well, with plenty of attendants on hand with towels galore to dry off seats for people before they sat down. The rain did come, but thankfully it was short down pours and not very heavy. We stayed very dry and with some time on our hands, we explored the ballpark. We went up as high as we could to look around. I noticed people were on the field and looking up at the sky and talking on hand held radios. Tina was at home checking radar, as was I on my iPhone. It looked like the clouds were breaking up and lo and behold, the game was on!!! Activity on the field was picking up and preparations were being made for the tarp to be rolled up.

From our crow's nest view, we all witnessed how the tarp is rolled up and watched the field being prepared for play. It was really neat to watch. Those guys really hussled. We are very thankful the game was only delayed 30 minutes and the rain held off for the entirety of the game. It turned out to be a great day for a ballgame!

We were all really excited to watch a game between two strong ball clubs - the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals. The most exciting part was seeing the previous year's phenom in person - Bryce Harper. He did not disappoint. This seemingly benign chopper (a ground ball that first hits close to the plate) was hit so hard the 1st and 2nd baseman had no chance to catch it. And he really hustles! With my boys and Matthew wanting to play baseball and hoping to be in the Major's someday, it's important to watch the professionals play the game at 100% and also see how they do the same things I'm teaching them when warming up - fundamentals.

The weather turned out to be so nice, everyone shed the rain gear. The cloud cover kept the temperature quite nice.

We had some really great seats - just to the right of home plate and about 12 rows back.  Some foul balls came close and I know the boys had their hearts set on catching a ball. But alas no foul ball came quite close enough, but.....

Towards the end of the game, many people had left and we moved behind the Braves dugout. When the pitcher made the final out, the Braves congratulated each other on the field then made their way into the dugout. The ball used to make the final out was flipped on top of it right towards Matthew, whose quick reflexes caused him to snap it up.

Score!! A first for everyone! Gameball! And it made the final out too!

All-in-all, it was great day. Even the rain had a purpose, it allowed us to witness the set-up of a MLB quality field and watch warm-ups. The game was very exciting, with lots of hits, nice fielding, and scoring. And best of all, was sharing the excitment of the home team Braves winning with four enthusiastic boys!